Living Life as Best as Possible
by marvel1998
Summary: Peter Parker experiences what nobody wants to go through- but it's a part of life. His whole entire life changes when Tony Stark comes to the rescue. Peter has a lot that he has to deal with, but with Tony's help and several others- he will live life the best he can.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **

**I am new to fanfiction! One thing you should know about me is that I am a HUGE Marvel fan! Please review and comment! I do have more already written. However, I am open to ideas! I am a busy person, but I will try to have a descent schedule going until this story ends. Enough rambling, I now present to you: Living Life as Best as Possible- please enjoy, 3000!**

**Chapter 1: Sudden Disaster **

Tony Stark had married Pepper Potts. A year later, they had a child of their own. Morgan H. Stark was now 4 years old. But then one morning at 2 am., Tony received a call from Happy.

"Tony, it's Happy. There has been an accident." Happys' voice sounded sad.

"What…who?" Tony said.

"It's May and Peter. They were on their way home from dinner and..."

"Are they okay?" Tony snapped.

"Peter has a concussion and May she… she didn't make it."

"Where are they?" "Memorial Hospital."

Tony got dressed as quickly as possible. He drove to the hospital, trying to think about all the things he was going to need to do. First, though, he wanted to see how Peter was. When he arrived at the hospital, Peter was sitting in the ER waiting room, with Happy. Peter didn't even look up. Tony ran over to Peter, crouching down to look and talk to him. "Pete."

Peter looked up at his mentor. His eyes were puffy, bruised, and red-rimmed from crying. "M-Mr. Stark, w-what… I-I mean you…" Peter realized he couldn't even talk correctly, so he just trailed off.

Tony patted his arm gently, "It's okay, bud. I am here. How's your head?"

"Um… it hurts." Peter's voice cracked. All he wanted to do was cry, but he was tired. His head throbbed. He had a concussion and some bruises. Tony got up and went to call someone on his phone. Peter assumed it was Pepper or someone like that. He didn't care, he just wanted May back. After a few minutes, Tony came over to Peter with a soda in his hand, "Here. You need to drink something."

Peter just shook his head.

"Pete, why don't you come to the tower and get some rest. The doctor's released you. Dr. Banner can work on some pain meds for you. Besides, that healing of yours is working, so you are going to want to sleep." Tony said gently, trying his best to hold it together.

Peter debated for a moment and then nodded. Peter swung his backpack over his shoulders. Mr. Stark put his arm around him and led him to the car. It was silent the whole way to the tower. When they pulled up, Mr. Stark helped Peter out. Peter was beginning to feel weak because he hadn't eaten in hours and his healing ability was tiring him. Plus, his killer headache wasn't helping one bit. Mr. Stark led him to the living room. Peter just slumped on the couch. It was now almost 3:30 in the morning. Pepper had come down from upstairs.

She went over to Tony, who was making a couple of sandwiches for Peter. "Tony, everything okay?"

"No, not really."

"Well the guest room is all set up."

Tony gave Pepper a kiss on the head, "Thanks, Pep. Try to get some sleep, we have a long road ahead."

Peter was barely awake when Tony came over with the sandwiches and a Gatorade. "Here, Pete."

Peter grabbed a sandwich and started to eat it. He felt sick to his stomach, but he didn't want to make Mr. Stark worry more. When Peter had finished his sandwich and some of the Gatorade, he stared at his knees, wringing his hands. "Come on, Pete. Let's get you to bed." Tony helped Pete upstairs. "Try to get some sleep, kiddo. We will talk in the morning, okay?"

"Th-thank you, Mr. Stark."

The next afternoon around 1 pm., Peter made his way into the kitchen. Tony looked up in surprise. He had been distracted by Morgan, who was helping her color in a color book. "Hey, Pete. Feeling any better?" Peter nodded. He had almost forgotten Mr. Stark had a little girl now. Morgan got off the barstool and went to Peter, "Hi, Peter." Peter nodded, "Hey, sweetie." Tony put waffles in the toaster for Peter. Morgan took Peter's hand and led him to the barstool that she had been previously at. Tony gave Morgan a quick smile. Peter sat on the barstool and Morgan pulled her crayons and book over. "Here." Morgan said handing a crayon to Peter. "You can help me color, if you want." Peter didn't really want to, but he was not about to be rude. He started coloring a little. When Tony had finished the waffles, he handed Peter the syrup and slid the plate over to him.

Tony looked over at Morgan, "Let Peter eat now. Besides, you need to get ready for the day."

"Are we still going to see the movie, dad?"

Tony had promised Morgan that they would all go see a movie that afternoon. But Peter was in no shape to go anywhere and there were tons of things to do. "Um, Uncle Rhodey said he would take you."

"But- you said we would go. I don't want to go with Uncle Rhodey!" Morgan cried.

"Sorry Morgan."

Peter just stared at his plate. Great. He had ruined their family plans. He turned around in his seat, "Mr. Stark, don't cancel your plans because of me. I-I can go to Ned's or I-."

Tony held his hand up, "No, Pete. You don't have to go anywhere. It's okay. Morgan can go with Rhodey."

Peter felt horrible both physically and mentally. Pepper made an appearance and went over to the island that Peter was sitting at. "Pete, honey. You feeling alright?" Peter nodded. "Good. So, I don't want to overwhelm you right now, but I do need to ask you a couple of things." Tony came over and sat next to Peter. Pepper continued, "Was your room okay? Do you need anything else?"

"No, n-no, it's fine, Mrs. Stark." Pepper nodded, "Pete, we almost have your aunt's funeral plans ready. Would you like to do anything else or add anything?"

She handed him an I-pad with a list. He wished a hole would swallow him up. "Peter, I know it seems fast. If you want…"

"Do whatever you want. I don't care." Peter growled.

He was frustrated because of his grief and how exhausted he felt. When Peter realized how he sounded, he was afraid Tony would be upset with him. Peter put his head down into his folded arms and sobbed. Tony just wrapped himself around Peter and held him. After about a few minutes, Peter managed to pull himself together. Tony asked Friday to order Chinese food and pizza. Peter couldn't help but smile a little at the sound of pizza.

"Hey, Pete. Why don't you rest until the food comes?"

Peter nodded and managed to lay his head down on a couch cushion. The next thing he knew, he heard Morgan's little voice chatting away to her dad. Peter sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes with his hoodie sleeve.

"Hey kiddo, ready to eat?" Tony asked from across the room.

Whenever Tony ordered food before, Pete would hurry to grab 4 slices of pizza and two boxes of Chinese food-much to Tony's delight. But now, Peter just slowly made his way to the kitchen island and grabbed one slice of pizza, eating it slowly. He was missing Aunt May immensely but was tired of crying. That is pretty much all he had done the past couple of days. However, his train of thought was interrupted when he noticed Tony and Pepper laughing at Morgan. She ate almost as much food as Peter would normally eat. She had 3 slices of pizza on her plate.

"Gees, Morgan. Slow down." Pepper said, almost laughing.

When dinner was over, Tony suggested a movie. Pepper popped popcorn. It was for everyone, but she hoped Peter would eat most of it.

Morgan went over to Tony and leaned against his knees, "Can I have ice cream?"

Tony smirked a little, "You just had three slices of pizza and you want ice cream?"

"Uh-huh."

Tony nodded, getting up to get ice cream.

Morgan cuddled up next to Peter. She really liked Peter and wanted to be with him more. They had become fairly close the past year.

When Tony came back with a small bowl of ice cream, he looked over at Peter and handed him the remote. "Here, Pete. You choose a movie, anything you want."

Peter just stared at the remote and shook his head. "If it's okay with you, I am just going to go get some sleep."

"Okay, that's fine. If you need anything, let me or FRIDAY know."

Peter nodded and headed upstairs.

That night, Peter woke up screaming, sobbing, and sweating from a nightmare. He had watched his Aunt die. There was blood everywhere and she was dead. Tony came in the room in less than two minutes. Peter was writhing in his bed and crying.

"Peter. It's okay. Shh…. It's just a dream. I am here. I got you." He rubbed circles on Pete's back.

Peter was out of it, not recalling how Tony had gotten a water bottle.

"Breathe, Pete."

Peter tried to obey. His harsh crying soon became soft sobs and coughs. Tony opened and held the water bottle out to the teen. Peter's hands were shaking, so Tony quickly realized he would have to help him. Peter just clung to Tony's shirt and put his head against his chest. Tony repositioned himself so that Peter was pretty much sitting on his lap, like a baby. Tony rocked him back and forth, which was extremely comforting to Peter. When he noticed Peter's grip loosen, he looked down to see the teen drifting off to sleep.

**End of the first chapter- What a rollercoaster! Please let me know if you want me to continue! As I said above, I have more written. Thanks for reading the first chapter! Happy reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Aftermath **

**Authors Note: **

**I am back with another chapter! I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I promise things will get better for Peter. Thank you to those who have read chapter 1. I always appreciate feedback. **

The next day was the funeral. It was small but Tony knew Peter wouldn't last through a long service. He was so tired from the night before and from his healing abilities working overtime. The morning went smoothly. Everything was okay as it could be until they got to the church. Tony was guiding Peter, with a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder. When Peter came inside and saw the open casket, his knees gave out from under him.

"Woah, kiddo. Easy."

Peter went pale and slowly sank to the floor. Tony was trying to stay calm not exactly sure what was happening.

"Pete, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I-I c-can't. I- can't breathe." Pete felt all of about 3 years old sitting on the floor.

He sat there, trying to catch his breath and when he did, it came out as a dry sob. Tony and the Reverend managed to help Peter up and into one of the front pews. Tony sat with him, grounding Peter. When the service started, Tony noticed Peter eyeing his friends across the way. Peter desperately wanted the service to end so he could cling to his best friend, Ned. He hadn't seen Ned in what felt like forever. Peter did good during the service. He hardly moved an inch and for the first time in 3 days, he didn't feel emotional. In fact, he felt a little angry. He wasn't sure why, but knew he had to try to act fine. Everything was fine, at least for Peter. When the funeral was over, the kid hardly looked up or said two words even when people came up to him. If he was his normal self, he would have been outright rude and Tony would have given him a lecture, that he wouldn't forget in a hurry. He snapped out of it when Ned came over. And for a few minutes, he felt normal. Ned had made him laugh.

When they got back from the funeral, Peter felt weak. He was trying really hard to act fine, but all he felt like doing was being angry and crying. Tony got a water bottle from the fridge and sat down next to Peter on the couch. "Pete, you feeling okay? Want something to eat?"

Peter just ignored him, literally staring holes in the wall across the room. Tony was concerned that the teen didn't answer him. "Peter."

"What?" Pete snapped.

Tony raised an eyebrow but patiently responded, "I was wondering if you were okay and if you wanted to eat something."

Peter glared at Tony for a second and said, "I am fine, just tired."

"Okay, well we can watch a movie, or you can go take a nap, or whatever you would like to do."

Peter nodded. He was now angry over his aunt's death. The funeral had made it feel official. Peter hated feeling the way he did. He wanted to be alone so he could get his anger out of his system. Finally, Peter got up from the couch. He ignored Tony and Morgan who had brought out some toys, went up to his room and slammed the door. Tony rubbed his hands against his face, concerned about Peter. Pepper came and sat next to Tony. "He okay?"

"I don't know. He won't talk and when he does, he sounds upset."

Pepper nodded. "He is having a hard time. Let's give him some space. I think everything is hitting him now. He is going to need you more than ever."

"I know, Pep. Have Happy take Morgan to Rhodey's place for the rest of the week. I have a feeling Peter is going to be a handful." Pepper agreed and called Rhodes.

Meanwhile, Peter laid on his bed, sulking. He was very angry and every minute passing, he was getting angrier. He put his headphones on, desperately trying to tune out everything around him. There was a gentle knock on the door. When there was no response, Tony opened the door and peaked his head in the room. "Pete?"

Peter took his headphones off, "Oh sorry, didn't hear you."

"That's okay, bud."

Peter put his headphones back on, trying to make a point of wanting to be alone. Tony grabbed the remote to the tv in the room and played Star Wars. He was hoping Peter would come around and join him. After a half hour, Tony felt Peter lean against his shoulder, having removed his headphones, and watched Star Wars until he dozed off. When he woke again, the movie was still playing, and Tony was still there.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hey, you feel better ?"

"Yeah, um… I am sorry for falling asleep."

"That's okay, kiddo. I know you're tired."

Peter realized he didn't feel as angry at that moment. He wanted to tell Tony how he felt, but he dismissed the idea when Tony left to bring the food that he had ordered. Tony brought the food up to Peter's room and handed him a carton of Chinese food. Peter inhaled the carton of food in about three minutes. Tony handed him another one and Peter smiled briefly. After inhaling that one just as fast, Peter decided to take a shower. At 2 a.m. Tony was suddenly awoken by the sounds of screaming and something breaking. He jumped out of bed and ran to Peter's room. He saw Peter on the floor sobbing and then noticed the mirror in his room was broken. Glass everywhere.

"Oh God, Pete! Are you okay?"

Peter was sobbing and his hand was bleeding. When Peter finally managed to open his eyes and saw his hand, he began writhing and screaming. When Peter managed to calm down only enough to stand up, Tony was going to help him to his bed. Tony planned to call Dr. Banner to get medical attention for Peter's hand. However, his plans were ruined when Peter decided to try and bolt out of the room. Tony managed to grab him around his chest and waist, just before he ran out of the room. Peter struggled trying to free himself from Tony's grip.

"Peter, you have to stay here. You are okay, bud. I've got you. You have to calm down." Tony said patiently but being semi-stern.

"Let me go!" Peter wailed.

Tony managed to get Peter to halfway sit and lay down on the floor. Tony held Peter in his arms and then put him between his legs. Tony then straddled his legs over Pete's legs so he would stop kicking.

"Let me go!" Peter wailed once more.

"I will when you have calmed down."

"I want May! Let me go!"

"Shh, I know you do. I am so sorry Peter."

"Why can't I go see her? She needs me." Peter choked out.

Tony wanted nothing more than to help Peter, but the teen was still struggling. "Peter, listen to me. We can go see her, but you need to breathe and calm down."

Peter struggled even more and desperately began trying to climb over Tony's arms and legs. He almost managed to get out of Tony's grip briefly and almost succeeded in crawling over Tony's arms and knees, but he just continued to restrain Peter. Somewhere in all that, he had ordered FRIDAY to get Bruce. When Dr. Banner made it to the room, Peter was still struggling even though he was exhausted. At least, he wasn't screaming and kicking as much. It was just crying and a few struggles and pleas to get free every now and then. Tony was exhausted and was sweating at this point. Bruce quickly helped Tony to hold Peter down. Bruce decided to give him a sedative that had been tested on Peter's metabolism. It would work faster and last longer. Finally, after what felt like eternity, Peter slumped boneless against Tony. He would be asleep for several hours. Tony thanked Bruce after he bandaged Peter's hand and quickly cleaned up the glass. It was now 3 in the morning and Tony was not going to be able to go back to sleep anytime soon. Instead, he sat next to Peter and ran his hand through Peter's curly hair. Boy, this was a rough one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: A Long Road Ahead**

**Author's Note: **

**Happy Monday! Hope everyone has a great week! I am so glad to be putting this story out there and that y'all are enjoying it! Like I said, things will get better, but as the title says- Peter still has a long way to go. **

The next morning, Tony noticed that the boy began to stir. He quickly called Bruce to come check on him. Peter's head and hand were throbbing, despite his somewhat fast healing. He could only vaguely remember the night before. When Bruce walked in, Pete gave him a quick smile. "Hey, Peter. Can I take a look at your hand? Does it hurt at all?"

Peter thought for a moment, "Yeah it hurts a bit, so does my head." Peter was confused and noticed Tony staring at him with deep concern, "Mr. Stark, I-I am sorry about last night. What did I do?"

"Well you tried to escape the room. You had a nightmare and were hysterical. You broke that mirror over there too." Tony said gently, pointing to what was once a mirror.

Peter hung his head and put his hands over his face in embarrassment. He swallowed some medicine Dr. Banner handed him. After Bruce left, Peter looked over at Tony, "I- I can't believe I did all that. I am really s-sorry, Mr. Stark."

Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "It's not your fault at all. Okay?"

"M'kay."

Peter was starving! Tony left the room for a few moments after making sure Peter was really okay and that he wouldn't leave the room. He arrived a few minutes later with a large plate of some eggs and toast. He also brought a couple of packages of pop-tarts. Peter inhaled the food and drank the large glass of chocolate milk as well.

Peter moved to the couch in the living room after he got a quick shower. Morgan came over to the couch, "Hi, Peter. Can I sit with you?" Pete just nodded. Tony came over with a soda for Peter noticing that Morgan had snuggled up next to Peter. Peter was angry but he was too exhausted to show it. Tony handed Peter the remote, but he just ignored him. Instead of pointing out the boy's rudeness, Tony put a movie on and sat next to Peter. The kid that he had once known wasn't there. He seemed as though May's death had taken all of Peter and left an empty shell. Peter sat on the couch, not really noticing any of his surroundings. He only came to reality when Tony got up for a moment to order some lunch. Peter whimpered without even realizing it, when he lost contact with Tony. A few minutes later, Tony came back and sat next to Peter. He instantly seemed to perk up at the contact again and gripped onto Tony's shirt sleeve as tight as he could. Tony gave a small smile at this poor boy who needed and craved him. Peter laid his head on Tony's shoulder and the next thing he knew he was being awoken by Tony.

"Kiddo, time to wake up. Food is here."

Peter groaned. He was so comfortable and didn't want to lose that comforting feeling of contact. He heard and felt Tony sigh.

"Pete, I promise I will be right back. Think you can let go long enough to bring you some food?"

Peter nodded sleepily, not fully awake yet. When Tony moved to get up, Peter gripped tighter.

"You going to let me go? I have Thai food… your favorite." Tony pushed hoping that Peter would let go. To Tony's surprise, the teen let go and smiled.

A moment later, Tony came back over with the food. Peter seemed a little like himself. He had the remote, flipping through movie options. When Tony handed him a carton of Thai, Peter smiled and grabbed the food container in one hand. The moment Tony sat down, Peter's hand immediately grabbed his sleeve. Tony figured as long as the kid was content, he was too. The rest of the afternoon was all good until Tony was awakened by the sound of Peter screaming and crying in the night. Tony found Peter in his bed, "Pete, wake up. You are okay. It is just a bad dream. Wake up, buddy." Tony sat next to Peter, waking him up.

Peter managed to calm down some after a few minutes. "I am sorry I woke you up, Mr. Stark." Peter said with his head buried in Tony's chest.

"It is no problem, bud. Try to relax and go back to sleep." After about 15 minutes, Peter fell back asleep, as Tony gently rubbed his hand through Pete's curly hair.

The next morning, Peter was in a bad mood from the nightmare. He usually was and Tony dreaded the bomb of teenage attitude that was about to go off at any time. "Hey, Pete. Hungry?"

Peter nodded, not even looking up once. He didn't say anything at all during breakfast. Tony didn't push him to talk. After breakfast was over, Peter went to the living room and sat on the couch. He was having a hard day. He really missed May, but he didn't want to talk about it. Morgan went over to him and laid her head on his chest. Looking up with her big brown eyes, she said, "Peter, will you play with me outside?" Peter ignored her.

She continued to ask him. Tony had left the room for a moment, when he heard Morgan come running down the hallway, in tears.

He knelt beside her, "Mohuna, what's the matter?"

"P-Peter won't p-play w-with m-me. He won't t-talk t-to me." Tony sighed, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He went over to Peter who had put some earbuds in, and his eyes were closed. Peter knew Tony sat next to him, but he didn't answer. Instead, he rolled his eyes and then closed them again.

After scrutinizing Peter for a moment, Tony took the earbud out of Peter's ear. "Peter." Tony said sternly.

Peter was annoyed to say the least. He was in emotional pain and wanted to be left alone. But he couldn't seem to find the words to say that.

"Can we talk for a second, bud?"

After a small eternity, Peter paused his music and took the other earbud out. Tony set the phone and earbuds on the other side of him. Peter's eyes went wide, "Are y-you… I-I mean…"

Tony realized what he was trying to ask, "No, Peter. I am not mad. I just want your attention on our conversation."

Peter nodded.

"Peter, I think it is best if you talk about your nightmares instead of bottling them up inside."

And 3,2,1, the bomb went off. "No. I don't have to tell you anything, if I don't want to." Peter spouted, not seeming to care at all.

Tony raised his eyebrow at the bratty but grieving teenager. "I am not forcing you too, Peter. I am just giving some advice, okay?"

Peter tried to storm out of the room, but Tony caught him by the arm halfway. "Let me go, Mr. Stark! I don't want to talk to you."

After a few more protests and some pulling back, Tony managed to get Peter to the couch. Getting him to sit down was another struggle in itself. "Peter. Sit down here with me. We need to talk about this." Tony held Peter's arm firmly and attempted to get him to sit down. Peter didn't budge. After a minute or two, Tony said, "Pete, you know we are here for you and to help you, anytime. I want you to sit down now, so we can talk. It might help you to talk to me."

Finally, Peter seemed to somewhat snap out of his bad behavior. "Yes, sir. Mr. Stark. S-sorry." Peter said quietly, not looking up at his guardian.

"Sit down, Pete."

Peter obeyed and put his head in his hands. He obviously felt a little guilty for the way he had acted. He still wasn't going to say anything, but at least he was doing what he was told and not acting like a 3-year-old. Tony sighed looking at the teenager, not exactly sure what to do.

Tony wanted Peter to open up, but he knew he couldn't force it. "Peter, look at me." Peter did, a tear dripping down his cheek. Tony sighed, "Pete, just tell me what's gotten you so upset? I want to help you."

Peter bit his bottom lip nervously, wiping away a few stray tears. "I-I just miss May. I know I-I shouldn't have acted the way I did, Mr. Stark. I am sorry."

"I know, bud. It's okay." Tony was not that surprised when he heard sniffling coming from the young teen. Tony pulled Peter in for a hug and the sobs that followed was no surprise. The kid had bottled up so much grief the past day or two.

**AN: Hope you enjoyed the third chapter! Peter is in desperate need of comfort and contact… I plan to post every Monday from now on. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Hey guys! Decided to post today on Friday- 1. I couldn't wait any more! and 2. I have a huge paper coming due soon, so I won't have much time to do anything else. Enjoy!**

The next couple of days went smoothly with no problems. Peter seemed to be doing pretty good, except for the nightmares. He tried his best to keep his attitude in check. He even made up to Morgan by going outside with her and playing. They played for hours outside. Tony was talking with Pepper about some SI stuff, when Peter carried Morgan in – hot and sweaty. Peter grabbed a soda from the fridge for himself and a juice for Morgan. Tony chuckled at how sweet those two were together. Morgan ran over to Tony and jumped on his lap. "Daddy, Peter and I played so many games!"

"Wow, that sounds like so much fun!"

Peter was really tired from being outside and he hoped he would sleep straight through for once.

That night, Peter had a horrible nightmare. It was so bad that he fell out of the bed. By the time, Tony got to Peter. Peter had already woken up some, but he was still crying. When Tony tried to help him up, Peter started kicking and screaming. He must have been still in that horrible dream.

"Peter, wake up. It is okay. It is just me, calm down. You got to wake up, bud." Tony spoke firmly but not unkindly.

Peter's screams finally came to a stop. He seemed to have calmed down a little, but he couldn't seem to wake up. Tony continued talking to him patiently, telling him he was safe, and he didn't need to kick anymore. Peter's kicking slowly came to a stop. Tony had managed to get Peter between his legs, like he had just a few nights before. This time though, Peter wasn't trying to escape. Peter never opened his eyes, but he was awake.

Tony figured he was just too exhausted to open his eyes. "Good boy, Pete. You are okay. I am going to release you now. You won't start kicking again, right?"

Peter nodded and gave a whispered yes. His throat was sore from all the crying and screaming. Tony helped Peter to the bed and under the covers. Peter managed to ask for water in a very hoarse voice, which caused him to start coughing.

"Okay, bud I am going to get you some water, but you can't leave the room unless I am with you. Understand?" Peter nodded.

After a few moments, Tony returned with three water bottles. Peter guzzled all three within just a few minutes, even though Tony told him to slow down a bit. Peter rested his head on Tony's chest, exhausted but awake. Peter opened his eyes after some coaxing. He wasn't going to sleep right away so Tony put on a movie for the both of them.

After a half hour, Peter said, "Mr. St-Stark, I need to use the restroom."

"Okay, bud."

Pete returned shortly, looking around the room like he was confused.

"You okay, Pete?" Peter seemed really confused for a moment and then snapped out of it. "Mr. Stark, I am sorry for keeping you up."

"Don't worry, Pete."

"Mr. Stark? When can I see Ned?"

"You can see him anytime, Peter. In fact, if you are up to it, we can have him over later or you can go to his house." Peter broke out into a smile and started to talk about Ned. Before Tony knew it, Peter had drifted off to sleep while in the middle of a story.

Tony had decided that it would be good to distract Peter by letting him go to Neds' and come to the lab. Seeing his best friend seemed to help Peter. Things were going fairly well. Peter was busily coming up with ideas for suit upgrades for Tony, but then the light switch in Peter's head went off. He was in the middle of using a tool when he dropped it and clutched his chest.

He was desperate for air. "Mr. S-Stark!"

Tony came over helping Peter to a chair. "Pete, what's wrong?"

Peter began sobbing. It became so intense that Peter threw tools across the room. He was really angry, but he had no idea why. Tony tried to get him to stop throwing things. The bad turned into worse in a blink of an eye. When Tony told him to stop throwing and screaming, Peter threw a string of creative curses at Tony. His jaw dropped at the teens' words.

"Peter, I know you are upset. I sorry you feel the way you do. Shh. Take some breaths and calm down."

Peter continued throwing insults and remarks. He would be angry and then sob and then be angry again. Tony was so confused as to what to do. So, he grabbed Peter and sat with him on the ground, holding him firm. Peter began struggling trying to free himself. Tony let Peter kick, squirm, throw insults, and cry. He let him get it out of his system.

When Peter finally managed to calm down and his cries became coughs, he spoke. "M' sorry, Mr. Stark. I-I don't know why I did that."

"I know bud."

" I need water."

"Okay. Let's go upstairs if you are calm enough." Peter nodded, silently following Tony upstairs.

Tony instructed Peter to sit on the couch. When Peter finished his water, he turned to look at Tony with sad, nervous eyes. Finally, Tony pulled him into a tight hug.

Peter took a deep breath in and said, "I want May back."

After a few minutes, Tony patted his knee and grabbed a pillow. "Here bud. Lay here for a little while. Put a movie on and rest. I am right here if you need me." Peter fell asleep resting his head on Tony's lap.

When Peter woke up, Mr. Stark was across the way in the kitchen talking with Rhodey. Rhodes had taken Morgan out for the day. Tony was really grateful for Rhodes because all of his attention had been on Peter. Peter rubbed his eyes, got up and made his way into the kitchen. He felt absolutely miserable.

"Hi. Colonel Rhodes." Peter said with a hint of excitement.

"Hey, Pete how are you feeling?"

"Uh, okay. I guess."

Tony had come around to where Peter was, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "Pete, if you are up to it. We were thinking about all of us going out for dinner. If not, you and I can stay here." Tony said.

Peter didn't feel up to it and the way things had been going, he was afraid he would have another outburst at the restaurant. "Mr. Stark, I… I." Peter paused, "That would be great." He lied, but he had already ruined their plans before.

That evening, the whole family went out to a nice restaurant. Before going inside, Tony pulled Peter aside, away from everyone else. "Pete, if you start to feel bad in anyway, tell me. Got it?"

Peter nodded. "I am really trying to be good, Mr. Stark."

"I know kid. You are doing amazing considering what all you have been through."

Peter managed a smile at that. Peter tried to not look around at all the people staring at him or at the prices. It took everyone about 5 minutes to convince Peter that he could order anything he wanted. It was all going well until he saw a lady walk in that looked like May. Knowing he didn't want to make a scene, he asked to be excused. Rhodes nudged Tony a few minutes later, when he saw Peter outside leaning against the railing. Tony made his way outside. Tony managed to get Peter to tell him what was bothering him, he sobbed. He was so tired of crying and being overly emotional all the time. But it was like he couldn't control it. After a few minutes, Peter wiped at his eyes.

"You going to be okay, Pete?" Tony asked gently.

"Yes sir, Mr. Stark."

Tony patted his shoulder and said, "Good boy."

As soon as they got home, Tony had Peter follow him into his office. "Pete, the school called. They wanted to know when you were planning to return. I told them that it was up to you."

Peter did not feel ready at all to go back, but he missed Ned. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to have Ned over or not, and he didn't want to ask.

"Pete?"

Peter shook his head as he jumped out of his thoughts. "S-sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn't hear you."

"That's okay. I asked what you wanted to do about school. It is up to you. No pressure."

"I-I would like to stay ho-here, if that's okay. I am n-not ready yet." Peter hoped Mr. Stark hadn't noticed that he had almost said home.

"Okay. I will let them know." Tony gave a small smile.

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope y'all enjoyed chapter 4 of Living Life as Possible. Peter is still grieving, but who wouldn't be. Things are looking up! See y'all next week! As always, please review. It is most appreciated! I am open to suggestions and ideas! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A few days passed and Peter had done really good. He was still having nightmares, but they weren't as bad. He would usually wake up and fall right back asleep. The next morning when Peter joined Tony for breakfast, Tony noticed the kid seemed more rested.

"Have any nightmares?"

Peter looked up from his plate, "They weren't too terrible. I fell back asleep."

"Pete, maybe you should talk to someone about these nightmares. You can't keep the nightmares bottled up, it will just fester and make you miserable."

"I- I just don't want to talk about them."

Tony stared at him, trying to figure out if he should press the issue or let it go for now. He decided to push a little further.

"You know there are so many people who are here for you and are ready to talk whenever you want, Peter. Just consider talking to someone."

"You don't talk to anyone about yours. You lock yourself up in the lab for hours on end." Peter stated, wishing he hadn't said that last part. Too late now.

A flash of anger left Tony as quickly as it came. "How about this? If I go talk to someone, you do too. We can get through our issues together."

Peter bit his lip and thought for a moment. "You would go talk to a counselor just to help me?"

Tony nodded in agreement, care and concern obvious in his eyes.

"O-okay, Mr. Stark. I guess so." Peter replied a little hesitantly.

"Good. Now, how about spending some time down in the lab?" Tony asked, hoping Peter would join them.

"Always!" Peter exclaimed, grabbing a couple of sodas from the fridge. When he was walking past Tony, he grabbed the soda's out of his hand.

"Na -ah. No drinks down in the lab, not after what happened last time you brought a drink down there."

"Mr. Stark, that was six months ago." Peter whined.

"Yes, I know. But if you recall, I said no more drinks." Tony said nonchalantly but serious at the same time.

Peter huffed and put the drinks back in the fridge. "Fine, but if I die of thirst, it's your fault."

Tony laughed, "Ha ha. Very funny. Let's go, drama queen."

With that, they headed down to the lab and spent the rest of the day there. At about 8 pm, Tony noticed Peter had fallen asleep while tinkering with a project. He carefully picked the kid up and took the kid to his room.

"Gees, kid, you're heavier than you look." Tony whispered.

Thankfully, the kid was a heavy sleeper. He never woke up once that night for the first time.

The days had passed slowly, and Peter had mostly a good demeanor . Tony had made him promise to tell him if he began feeling angry or emotional. Peter decided to try living normally again, so he managed to get the courage to ask Tony if he could start his internship up again. He also asked if he could make a trip to the school and get started on the missed work that was piling up. Tony was quite surprised at the request, but he finally agreed. When they made their way to the school, he firmly told Peter to not stress himself out. He told him to do what he could, but rest was the most important thing, now that Peter wasn't as emotional.

Peter knocked on Tony's open office door one day. He was delivering some paperwork from one of the departments that he needed to sign.

As Tony was signing, Peter asked, "Mr. Stark, would it be- I mean."

Tony looked up at him, smiling at him, "Pete, I won't bite. Ask away."

Peter let out a deep breath. "Could Ned come over? I haven't seen him since the funeral. I have only managed to start texting him just a few days ago."

Tony smiled, "Yes of course, Peter. Just let me know what day, so that way Happy and Pepper know you won't be here to make paper runs."

Peter smiled, "Yes sir. Thank you, Mr. Stark!" He began heading out of the office, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

"Peter?"

Peter a little startled turned to face Mr. Stark. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"First, you know you can call me Tony, unless we are around other workers. Second of all, you might need these papers."

Peter smiled, running back to grab the stack of papers. "Oh right, sorry, Mr.S- I mean- Tony."

"Good boy." Tony smiled.

That evening, Peter sat at the island in the kitchen, working furiously at some of the math homework the teachers had emailed him. Tony had told him that he could use his laptop and work on assignments during his internship, as long as he was not needed.

Pepper noticed Peter working away at his math when she went into the kitchen to get something. "Pete, you have been working on that for a while. Come watch the movie with us."

Peter obeyed, shoving his papers and books into his backpack. Awhile later, Morgan and Peter had both fallen asleep before the movie ended. Tony scooped Morgan up and carried her to her bed. He came back downstairs to find Peter still sound asleep. He really didn't want to have to wake him up, but he didn't think he could carry Peter upstairs. He decided to let Peter sleep awhile longer, while he and Pepper discussed some business matters. Finally, at 11 p.m., Tony gently woke Peter up and sent him to bed.

It was now Saturday, Morgan had Peter come play with her outside. He hadn't really been up to being a "big brother" since he came to live with them. But now, he decided he would gladly take on that role. He pushed Morgan on the swings and taught her how to jump rope. After lunch, Peter asked if he could take Morgan to see a movie with Ned. Tony seemed to always have Pete's wallet contain $20 bills. He had been putting one of them every day, since Peter had started his internship up again. So, an hour later, the three kids went to see a movie. By the time, Happy had pulled up to the driveway at 4 p.m., Morgan had fallen asleep in her car seat. Peter carried her in and laid her on the couch. Peter was happy that this felt normal. Of course, he still had rough days.

Monday was that rough day. Peter woke up feeling miserable and depressed. He didn't want to get out of bed at all, but his stomach was growling. So, he made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey, Pete. How does a couple of hamburgers for lunch sound to you?" asked Tony.

Peter was hungry, realizing it was already almost noon. "Sounds good, Mr. Stark."

When the food had been delivered, Tony and Peter watched TV.

"What's on your mind, Pete?"

Peter gulped. He was really sad today. "Nothing. I am fine."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Pete, I know you kid. What is making that brain of yours work so hard?" After a moment, Peter answered. "I am just sad. I miss May." His voice cracked at her name.

"I am sorry, kid. I know you do." Tony pulled Peter closer to him.

A few moments later, Tony noticed Peter's shoulders shuddering. Tony kissed his forehead and said, "It is going to be okay, Pete."

Peter sobbed for a little while but not as much with Tony there, comforting him. When he stopped crying, he rubbed his eyes and scrubbed the tear tracks on his face with his hands. Tony got up from the couch and brought Pete a soda and another burger. Peter inhaled his food.

"I-I think I am ready to talk to a counselor or someone, now." Peter suddenly brought up.

Tony was surprised at the sudden statement. "Good. I will make an appointment and let's see how it goes. Sound good?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said.

"You don't have to call me sir or Mr. Stark, Pete. You can call me Tony or anything else."

Peter smiled, "Even drama queen?"

"If I ever hear you call me drama queen, I am going to wake you up everyday at 5 am by the fire sprinklers."

Peter narrowed his eyes, "You wouldn't."

Tony glared right back. "Watch me. FRI, be a dear, and…"

Peter held his hands out in defense and quickly said, "No, no. I was only kidding! Please, Mr. Stark- Tony."

Tony smiled and ruffled the kid's hair. "I am watching you."

Peter stuck his tongue out playfully.

"Pick a movie, kid." Tony said as Peter snuggled closer to him.

After the movie was over, it was only 1 pm. Tony decided they needed to be more productive. "Pete, would you like to come to the SI office with me. You don't have to make runs unless you want to. You can just hang out, work on some homework." Peter nodded, figuring the distraction would be good. With that, they made their way downstairs where the lobby was filled with people.

Phones ringing constantly. Tony had to make a stop by Security. He had a little something for Peter. He told Peter to wait outside the office door.

"Ms. Cartwright." Tony said.

"Oh, Mr. Stark, I didn't expect you."

"Do you have time to make Peter a security access card?"

"Yes of course, Mr. Stark. I have to say he has done very well with helping everyone out around here."

"Thank you. Let me have him come in, so we can get his card."

Ms. Cartwright typed on her keyboard for a moment, while Tony brought Peter in.

"Hi. Ms. Cartwright." Peter said shyly.

"Hi. Peter."

Tony pointed to a chair; Peter was wondering what they were doing.

"Peter, Ms. Cartwright is going to give a new security access card. You have a temporary one that most interns get, or new hires receive."

Peter smiled at the idea of getting a new card.

"Mr. Stark, I assume you want Peter to have the next level up." Mrs. Cartwright said.

Tony shook his head, "No, Ms. Cartwright. He needs the ALPHA level security card."

"ALPHA, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked. While he was an "intern", he wasn't familiar with the levels.

"Yes, Pete. To put it simply, ALPHA gets you into all floors, doors, and labs." Peter's jaw dropped.

Ms. Cartwright handed Peter an I-Pad with some forms to fill out. After 10 minutes, Peter had his new access card. He couldn't stop saying thank you to Tony the rest of the day.

On their way to the office, they were interrupted several times by different employees, giving Peter hugs. All the employees really like Peter and made comments to Pepper all the time about the new intern. The employees were not aware that Peter was living with them. When they reached the office, Pete sat down at the conference table and began working away on homework. He really hated Physics and usually needed help. While he was really smart and loved science, Physics was not his thing. Before May died, Pete would come to the tower and have Tony help him and explain a concept to him. Tony recognized the groans coming from Peter about an hour later.

He got up from his chair and came over to Peter, "You need any help, kiddo?"

"Uh, I almost have this figured out, but I know I am missing something." Peter said as he pointed to a complex physics problem.

Tony looked at the problem. He pointed to a couple of things and explained to Peter what he needed to do. Two minutes later, Peter had it finished.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"Sure thing. Now, if you want to take a quick break, you can run these files down for me to HR."

"Yes sir." Peter said, glad to have a break.

Tony became a little worried when Peter hadn't made his way back yet. It couldn't possibly take 15 minutes for Peter to make that run. As he was getting ready to ask FRIDAY to locate Peter, he heard the door open.

It was Peter with Morgan. "She wanted to see you. She was in the lobby." Peter explained.

"Morgan, does Mommy know you are here?"

"Uh-huh." Morgan said. She pulled out the different things she had done in school. Tony normally would have sent her upstairs to their floor, but he figured Morgan needed the extra attention from him.

Now that Morgan was in school, Pepper put Morgan in different activities to keep her busy. She was in piano lessons, tennis, and she would start swimming the following summer. Peter volunteered to take her to everything, but Tony wanted Peter to rest and relax. He knew Peter would need to start school again. In reality, it had only been about a few weeks since everything happened. Peter was doing great and he was happy to take on "big brother" duties. At least for now, everything seemed to be going better.

**Authors Note: Thank you to a reviewer who mentioned that Peter should be put in counseling. I decided to use the idea and incorporate it into the story. Hope you enjoyed this story! **


	6. Chapter 6

Peter's screams woke the household up at 3 a.m. because he was yelling for Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

"Wake up, Peter." Tony ordered calmly. He rubbed Pete's shoulder, but Peter continued calling out and writhing. He had tears running down his face.

"Come on, Peter. It's okay, bud. Wake up."

Finally, Peter woke up, gasping for air. Tony caught him as he shot up in the bed, trying to catch his breath. When he managed to do so, he rubbed his hands against his face. He was so annoyed and tired of the unrelenting nightmares.

"S-sorry, Mr. Stark."

"You don't have to apologize Peter."

"Mr. Stark, c-can I go see them?"

Tony confused for a moment, but then realized what Peter meant. "Yeah of course you can bud. We can go in a few hours."

"Thank you. Can I have Ned be with me?"

"Yes bud. Go back to sleep."

At 11 a.m., the three boys went to the cemetery. Tony had flowers sent to the tower for Peter to take over to the grave site.

"Pete, would you like some privacy?" Tony asked before getting out of the car.

"I want Ned with me for right now."

Tony was not at all offended and explained that to Peter when he tried to explain and apologize.

As Ned and Peter sat down on the ground, Ned spoke, "You had an amazing aunt and uncle, Peter."

"I know, Ned. They were amazing. I really miss them."

"I know you do, man. But they would be so happy that you have Mr. Stark looking after you."

"Think so?"

"Yeah of course. They want you to be happy, dude."

Peter nodded, wiping away a tear that had sneaked out. Ned wrapped his arm around Peter for a few minutes. Peter got lost in his thoughts looking up at the blue sky. Tony got out of the car. They had been there for a half hour.

He didn't want to rush Peter, but he wanted to check on him. "You boys doing okay?"

Peter didn't look up. He didn't want Mr. Stark to see his tears.

Ned looked up at Mr. Stark with sad eyes. "We are okay, Mr. Stark."

"Pete, need more time?"

Peter nodded a yes. He felt bad for wasting all of Tony's time. After a few more minutes, the two boys made their way back to the car. Peter sat up front with Tony this time and made an effort to not make eye contact with his guardian. Tony noticed that both boys had been crying. Peter's eyes were red and puffy, so were Neds. Tony reached out and squeezed Pete's shoulder and nodded as in he understood, and it was okay. Peter smiled at him a bit. When they pulled up to Ned's house, Peter got out, hugging Ned tightly for a few moments, before both boys wiped a few stray tears away. It was a really emotional day for both of them.

When Peter got back in the car, he didn't say a word. "Pete, are you okay?" Tony asked.

Peter just nodded. He wanted to just break down, but he didn't want to with Mr. Stark around.

Deciding that a distraction was in order, Tony asked, "How about some ice cream?"

Peter almost cracked a smile but didn't. Instead, he shook his head. Tony scoffed a little jokingly, "I never in a million years thought that I would hear you turning down ice cream." He tried to make the tension lighter.

"M'sorry. Mr. Stark. Just not hungry." Peter said.

Tony squeezed his shoulder, "That's okay bud. Let's go home and let you rest." Peter nodded.

When they got in the living room, Peter collapsed on the couch. He laid down on his stomach, covering his eyes with his hands and then burying his face in the pillow. Tony came over with a bottle of water and had Peter drink some. He noticed Peter wipe at his face a little before taking the bottle and avoiding looking at him. When he finished taking a sip, Peter laid back down and covered his eyes with hands. Tony put the bottle on the coffee table and rubbed Pete's back. "Get some rest now, bud." A few moments later, Tony could hear light snoring from across the room. Peter had been asleep for about two hours when Tony decided to wake Pete up with the smell of coffee. While Peter had been asleep, Tony ordered pizza that had just arrived. With the aroma of coffee in the air, Tony noticed the teen stirring on the couch. When Peter woke up, he realized that Morgan was sitting next to Pepper in a chair, coloring. They had already eaten some pizza and were being quiet so Peter could rest. Peter made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a plate and 6 slices of pizza.

"Hungry, are we?" Tony chided.

He was so relieved to hear an actual laugh followed by sarcasm come out of the teen, who had been so depressed. Tony was working on finding a counselor for Peter. Although, a part of him really hoped Pete would just come to him. Peter finished all six slices and Tony made some more jokes about money and pizza.

Later that afternoon, Morgan came up to Peter, "Will you play with me?" She held out a bin of play-doh.

Peter smiled and nodded. They created all kinds of different things and even had a little war with some dragon looking creatures. Tony couldn't help but laugh at how dramatic the battle was. The ball of dough that hit him on the head was a complete surprise. When Morgan giggled, he picked her up dramatically, tickling her until she could hardly breath. She was laughing so hard. Tony then made his way over to Peter when he was laughing. Peter got up quickly, in an attempt to run from the tickle punishment that was coming his way. The two boys wrestled for a moment. Tony won in his mind because he had gotten Peter to laugh like he used to. The boy used to be endless chatter and laughs that Tony would make him do extra runs in the office just to get him to calm down, especially when he couldn't get him to stop laughing. That night, Morgan had insisted that Peter help her get ready for bed.

After an over dramatic production of a bed-time story, Peter kissed Morgan on the head. "Night, Morhuna. Go to bed or I'll sell all of your toys." Peter said. Morgan giggled, realizing he had stolen that comment from her dad. **(okay, I used an Endgame reference-couldn't help it)**

When things had quieted down, Peter sat on the couch doing some history reading and questions.

Tony came and sat next to him. "Homework?"

"Yeah. I am just trying to get caught up."

"Remember what I said about taking your time with and don't stress."

"I know, Mr. Stark." Peter smiled.

A couple of hours later, Tony came back over where Peter was. Peter was writing answers to some questions. Tony grabbed the pen once he stopped writing. "Enough of that, mister. Time for bed."

Peter sighed. He really wasn't tired. "I have four more questions. Can I finish those?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. He admired the kid's work ethic, but he knew the kid needed sleep. "Bedtime, Pete. You need your rest."

Peter rolled his eyes. He was a little frustrated and it showed. "I'm not tired."

Tony could see that he was indeed tired. He hadn't meant to make him frustrated. He was a bit surprised to see the kid getting worked up over homework.

"Peter." Tony said firmly. "I know you said you aren't tired, but you are bud. I want you to rest now. You don't have to sleep yet, just rest."

Peter let out an exaggerated groan of frustration, wanting to keep working. Tony knew this was going to go from bad to worse, if he didn't stop it. "Peter, I am not going to ask again. Come on bud. Put your homework away." Tony said.

He was trying to be calm about the whole thing. He gently took the book and papers from Peter, setting them aside. Peter had had enough of Tony bothering him. He threw his books down on the ground and threw the pen across the room, that had been sitting on the table. Getting up off the couch, Peter headed for his room.

Tony grabbed his arm. "Peter, take a breath. You are all worked up. Breathe. You are just tired." Peter glared at him. He knew he was over-reacting, but he didn't really care at the moment. Tony attempted to pull Peter in for a soothing hug to calm him down but was surprised when Pete resisted. "Peter, come on. Don't be mad."

"I am not a baby! I don't need you telling me what to do!" Peter said, raising his voice a little.

Tony was surprised at Peter as once again a string of curses came out of the teen's mouth. "Peter, don't talk like that." Tony said firmly. Yeah, it was definitely time for Peter to get some help.

Tony was hoping the kid would snap out of his little tantrum, but he didn't. He kept going. Finally, Tony spoke up when Peter was breathing hard after spouting off. "Okay bud. I think you need sleep. You know better than to talk like that. I am sorry you feel the way you do, but you need to calm down. Understand?"

Peter blushed in embarrassment but said nothing. Tony knew the kid was tired. He led Pete to his room, who was still feeling really frustrated. Tony managed to get the teen to sit next to him on his bed. "Peter, are you ready to have a conversation now?"

Peter was still a little bratty and he knew he was acting like a four-year-old. He shook his head no and grunted out a frustrated "Nuh-uh".

"Okay then why don't you get ready for bed and then we will try having our conversation again, yeah?" Tony asked, not sure if that would help the situation or if it would just make things worse. Oh well, he was learning how to parent a teen. It was still a new concept. A few minutes later, Peter came out and sat next to Tony. "You ready to be nice now, bud?"

"Uh- huh. S-sorry, Mr. Stark." Peter said meekly.

"We care about you Pete. I know you are exhausted, and you are acting out due to it. I want to help fix whatever is going on in that head of yours. Talk to me."

Peter stared down at the floor and said, "I-I am just tired of being treated like a little kid. I am 13!"

"I understand that, but you have been through so much lately. I don't want you stressing out. Okay?"

"Yeah. M'sorry." Peter said.

"Okay bud. I forgive you." Tony gently put his arm around Peter and managed to get a real hug. Tony stood up, giving him a kiss on the head, and ruffled his hair.

"Goodnight bud."

Pete didn't move and just sat on the edge of the bed.

Tony came back over, "Everything okay, Pete?"

Without looking up, he said, "I am sorry for being rude. You have flipped your life upside down for me. I shouldn't be acting the way I did."

Tony smiled at Peter. He was a really good kid. "It's okay, Peter. You have had a rough day." Tony ruffled his hair one last time and closed the bedroom door.

The next day, Tony went to check on Peter and was surprised to see that the teen wasn't in his room asleep. He asked FRIDAY where he was. Peter had reported downstairs for his internship at exactly 8 A.M. Tony figured it was just Peter's way of apologizing. He went down to the little office that was Peters. He quietly knocked on the door.

Peter was busily replying to a few emails and looking at a Stark Industries I-pad. "Hello, Mr. Stark."

Tony closed the door, "Hey, Pete. You're up early."

"I just wanted to get ahead on everything today."

"Okay bud. Why don't you come on up to my office and we can pick up the girls for lunch?"

"Okay." Peter said cheerfully.

" So, I found a counselor and we have an appointment with her next week. You going to be alright with that, because we can wait?"

Peter nodded but didn't say anything.

Okay. I will let you get back to it." Tony smiled softly.

The phone rang as Tony closed Peter's door again. The kid had run all over the place, doing everything he could get hands on. He was like that for almost an entire week. Non-stop.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 6! I didn't much time at all this past week to work on this chapter. Thankfully, I had most of it already written but I did add some stuff. Sorry for the chapter being shorter! Also, I figured having Peter do things for SI is his way of keeping himself busy and distracted, until he goes back to school. Happy Thanksgiving! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: THANK YOU for the sweet reviews! They mean so much to me! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Please enjoy the next chapter of Living Life as Best as Possible! **

Finally, Tony and Peter both agreed it was time to go back to school. Peter returned to Midtown Science and Technology School and he definitely felt out of place. He almost wished that he could just work for SI instead. He had managed to get almost all of his assignments finished, only because Tony realized that he was doing too much other stuff. He had told Peter to take his time, but he hadn't expected Peter to practically run the business and Morgan. So, Tony stepped in and told Peter was to focus only on school and resting. At first, Peter was a little sad about it, but realized that the break was needed.

At 6 a.m., Peter was woken up to a hand rubbing his shoulder gently. "Pete, wake up. It's your first day back to school." Peter groaned, turning over to face Mr. Stark.

"Be in the kitchen in 30 minutes, okay?" Tony said patiently.

Peter nodded. At exactly 6:30, Peter was ready for school and sat down at the island. Pepper slid a plate of food over to Peter, who immediately devoured it. Tony came over and sat next to Peter, "Are you ready to go back to school? If you're not, you can go back next week."

"No, I am ready. I think." Peter stammered.

When they pulled up to the school, Peter just stared out the window with his earbuds in for a moment. He was really dreading all the looks and comments that were going to be coming his way. Thankfully, Ned walked up to the car and was by his side for most of the day. Peter's first period was English. The teacher was extremely nice and gave Peter an extension on the book assignments that were given out the week before.

Since Christmas break was coming up, teachers would be giving out ridiculously huge work packets that were to be completed. Peter was given an extension on those packets, which he was thankful for. However, he knew deep down he would attempt to complete them by the original due date. The day went smoothly until 6th period. It was his chemistry class and Flash Thompson made a derogatory comment about Peter and Mr. Stark. Peter clenched his fists. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor with a bloody nose. Great. He was in trouble on his first day back. Peter was sitting in the principal's office, waiting for Mr. Stark to get there. He was trying so hard to be good.

Tony walked in and came over to Peter. "Pete, are you okay?"

Peter didn't dare look at his guardian. So, he nodded instead. Tony gently lifted Pete's head up to look at his nose before the principle called them both in. A few minutes later, Tony came out of the office, giving Peter's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Let's go get your stuff and have Bruce look at your nose."

"We will talk about that later. Get your backpack."

The ride to the tower was silent. Peter's nose hurt and he was trying not to cry. He wanted to cry because he was wondering how much trouble he was in. He felt bad for all the trouble he had caused Tony.

Tony guided Peter to the lab where Dr. Banner was. He looked up from where he was working. "Pete, what happened?"

Peter was to ashamed to say anything.

Tony stepped in, "Pete got into a fight at school. Can you look at his nose, make sure it's not broken?"

After a moment, Bruce said, "Well you got lucky Pete. It is not broken. It will bruise and ache for a day or two. Are you in any pain right now?"

"Yeah a bit. It's not too bad."

"Okay, I am going to give you some medicine for the pain and you need to rest. You will probably want to sleep it off." Peter nodded and winced at the shot in his arm.

Tony came over to Peter, "Okay, bud. Let's get you comfy. Where do you want- bed or couch?"

"W-Wait. Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, Pete."

"Am I in trouble?" Tony sighed. The kid did start the punching, but Flash should have never said those things.

But before he could answer, Peter spluttered out, " I am sorry for punching him and getting in trouble on my first day back. I am really, really sorry. I won't ever do it again. I will do whatever you want and I…"

Tony held his hand up, "Peter. Take a breath. You aren't in trouble." He guided Peter to his bedroom, closing the door behind them. He helped Peter to bed. Peter was fighting to stay awake.

"Go to sleep bud. It is all going to be okay."

Peter couldn't help but sob a little.

Tony carded his hand through Pete's hair. "Pete, it's okay bud. Relax and get some sleep."

A couple of hours later, Peter woke up and made his way into the living room. Tony was watching a movie with Morgan. Pepper was working downstairs.

"Mr. Stark?" Pete called out.

Tony turned around to see Peter standing there. He looked miserable. "Hey, Pete."

Peter looked like he wanted to cry again.

"Come on bud. Let's go in here." Tony pointed to his home office. Peter sat in the chair and just sobbed. He had gotten himself all worked up over the whole thing. "Pete. I know that Flash said some things to you that were not good at all. He should have never said those things. And I know you were angry, but, Pete, you hit him first."

Peters cries escalated. "I-I know I shouldn't have hit him, Mr. Stark. M' sorry."

"I know bud. I already told you that you weren't in trouble. Calm down a little."

"I want May!" Peter said through his sobs. Tony sighed and stood Peter up, enveloping him into a tight hug. Peter cried until he couldn't anymore. Tony sat Peter back down in his chair once he was calm enough and got him a water bottle.

"Feel better?" Tony asked after giving Peter a minute to collect himself, while drinking some water.

"A little." Peter mumbled. He was absolutely miserable.

"Let's get past what happened at school, okay. I am keeping you home tomorrow. You can rest tomorrow and get some of those assignment caught up. Plus, we will be seeing a counselor in a couple of days."

Peter sniffled and groaned. "When will I ever feel normal again?"

"It takes time, Pete."

He was so tired of crying and being miserable, but he couldn't help it. He felt so ashamed for causing so much trouble. Tony tilted Pete's chin up to him gently. "Pete, what's making you so upset?"

"I-I am s-sorry for ruining y-your life. I h-have c-caused you so much t-trouble. And you have b-been so nice to me and taking me in." Peter continued, crying hard.

"I chose to take you in. You have not ruined my life in any way. You made it better, Peter. Don't ever apologize for ruining my life, because you didn't. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes s-sir." Tony rubbed Pete's back. Tony knew the kid needed to let out his feelings.

"Pete, I want you to talk to me whenever."

"But you are so b-busy. I hate to bother you."

"Peter Parker, I am never too busy for you. I want to be there for you and help you. You have been through so much and you are only 13. We are all here for you. Don't bottle things up. Do you understand?" Tony stated in a completely serious tone, that made Peter almost flinch.

Peter nodded his understanding. Tony stood Peter up on his feet, hugged him tightly, and gave him a kiss on his forehead. God, Tony loved this kid so much!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

**Authors' Note: **

**Surprise! Surprise! A new chapter... With school being almost finished... I will be posting new chapters every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter of Living Life as Best as Possible! **

Today was the day. Counselor appointment. The day had already started off bad because Peter was in a really, really bad mood. He woke up that way, not sure why. Maybe it was because of what had happened at school. When Tony had called Peter down for breakfast, Peter plopped himself down in his seat.

"You okay, kid?" Tony asked while setting a plate of food down in front of Peter.

"Just peachy." Peter replied, not looking up once.

Tony sighed. He watched the kid eat his food or rather just poke at it with his fork.

"Not hungry?" Tony asked, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Peter didn't say anything. Instead, he threw the fork down on the table, got up and slammed the door to his room shut. Tony stood in the kitchen and took some deep breaths. Something was wrong and he needed to find out. He gave Peter fifteen minutes to himself before going to his room.

"Pete, what's going on?" Tony asked as he made his way to sit next to him on the bed.

Peter had his head in his arms, laying down on the bed. "I am fine. Leave me alone."

"Let me help you. What do you need?"

"Nothing." Peter's voice cracked.

"You have nothing to be nervous about with your appointment, Pete." Tony said, as he rubbed Pete's back.

"Why do I have to go to some stupid therapist?" Peter questioned angrily.

"I suppose you don't have to. I think it would be good for you to." Tony said patiently.

"I don't need anyone's help. Not yours and definitely not some strangers."

Silence hung in the room. Tony had an overwhelming urge to give the kid a piece of his mind. However, that was the last thing Peter needed. His thoughts were interrupted by Peter.

"So, are you going to yell at me and force me or are you going to leave me alone?"

"Neither." Tony stated with no emotion behind it. "I want you think about it and if you change your mind about going, then we will leave at 1:30 to be there by 2." Tony patted Pete's back softly and leaned over to give him a kiss on the back of his head.

"I love you, kid. I am just trying to help." Tony said as he left the room and closed the door.

Tony, Pepper, and Morgan left Peter alone, not wanting to make him angrier. It was almost 1:30 and Tony looked at his watch, wondering if Peter was going to come out and decide to go. 10 minutes later, Peter made an appearance. Morgan immediately came running up to him and hugged his lower waist.

"Uh, Mr. Stark? C-Can we go?"

Tony looked up from what he was doing in surprise. "Yeah of course."

"I know we will be late, but I accidently fell asleep." Peter said, keeping his eyes on the floor.

When they got to the counselor's office, Peter kept his earbuds in his ears. He didn't want to talk to anybody at the moment. Tony left him be after making a futile effort in having a conversation with Peter. It ended up being mostly one-sided. After what seemed like forever, a very nice man came out.

"Peter Parker?"

Tony nudged the kid, as he shook the counselor's hand.

"Hello, Peter. I am Dr. Zhago. It's nice to meet you." Dr. Zhago held his hand out.

Peter shook his hand, not saying anything. They made their way to a separate office.

"Have a seat, Peter. You can have your guardian stay or he can wait outside."

"Stay, just in case I don't like you." Peter mumbled.

"Peter." Tony rebuked.

Dr. Zhago attempted to break the ice by getting to know Peter. After very clipped answers from Peter, Dr. Zhago noticed that the earbuds were still in his ear.

"What kind of music do you like, Pete?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders, not giving a response. Tony went over to Peter and knelt next to him. He gently took the earbuds out and let them hang over Peter's shirt.

"Pete, it's not very nice to keep your buds in with music playing, while Dr. Zhago is trying to get to know you." Tony admonished patiently. "Leave them out of your ears until we are done, okay?"

Peter groaned dramatically and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Dr. Zhago decided it was time to try to figure out Peter and what he was going through.

"Pete, Mr. Stark told me a little about you and what's happened. Are you ready to talk about it?" asked patiently.

"No."

"Pete, I want you to know we are here for you, to help you. It's always good to tell someone how you feel. You like to write or draw?"

"I write tons of essays for English, so no not really."

Dr. Zhago chuckled. "What do you like to do then?"

"Make stuff, like tech and engineering."

"Could you show me something you have made next time you are here?"

Peter nodded his head and for the first time that day he smiled a little. Well the appointment could have gone better, but at least Peter went. Tony was worried the kid would fly off and be belligerent. Tony stopped and got Peter a large chocolate milkshake on the way back home. He may have gotten a large one for Morgan also and let her drink it before dinner, and made Morgan swear to not tell her mother.

Tony never really worried about the kid's grades until after May had passed away. Peter had missed a month of school. When he returned, he was receiving some fairly low grades. Tony and Pepper were concerned but didn't say much figuring it was just the change.

"Mr. Parker, I need to see you after class." the teacher called out.

Peter groaned. He knew that the essay he had turned in was complete trash. The teacher, Mr. Himms, waited for the rest of the class to leave after the bell rang to go over to Peter. "Peter, I know you have had a rough couple of months. This is the third assignment you have failed in my class, since you have been back. Also, you didn't turn in five other assignments. If you need help or need extra time, just let me know next time, instead of failing or not doing it at all. I know your grades are important to the Stark Internship, but I am afraid I have to give you detention. While your there you can work on your five assignments, you didn't turn in. If you finish them, I will give you full credit. " Peter nodded and crumpled the detention slip into his backpack.

At dinner time, Morgan was busily chatting about her barbie dolls. Tony was distracted by Peter. Peter just kept his head down and didn't say a word. Peter decided he wasn't in the mood to eat, so he got up from the table to go to his room.

"Um, where are you going, Peter?" Pepper asked slightly concerned.

"To my room. I am not hungry."

Tony raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and said, "Peter, you need to at least sit with us. Come on bud."

Peter glared at him, "No."

"Pete, I know you have had a rough time with school, but there is no need to be rude."

With that, Peter just walked off. Tony was going to go after him, but Pepper stopped him after hearing the slam of Peter's door. After dinner had been cleared, Tony went to Peter's room to find out what was wrong. He just wanted to be there for him.

"Pete. Can I come in?"

Peter had his earbuds in, blasting music. He was desperately trying to finish some homework. When Tony entered the room, Peter was pretty sure he was in for a lecture, he soon wouldn't forget. "Pete, what's wrong? Did something happen at school?"

Peter just shrugged and said. "I am fine."

"Pete, it's not like you to just stomp off and not eat."

"I just wasn't hungry okay? Gees…." Peter's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Tony thought for a moment. "Pete, if something is bothering you or if you need to talk, you can talk to me or Pepper. Okay?"

Peter just nodded and gave a subdued thank you.

The next couple of days had gone by until Tony got a call from the school. The school principle has notified him that Peter had 3 detentions in the last 3 days. Also, he was told about the poor grades and the missed homework assignments. When the phone call ended, Tony was upset and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was definitely frustrated with Peter. He was doing his best to live a normal life. When Peter and Morgan had been dropped off at home by Happy, Tony and Pepper were in the kitchen, discussing what to do about Peter.

Tony immediately spoke when he saw the two kids come around the corner. "Hey, Peter. Come sit over here with us for a few minutes. We need to have a serious conversation."

Morgan ran off to her room. Peter knew that they knew about detention and from the looks of it and everything else bad too. Tony beckoned Peter to come sit at the bar stools in the kitchen. Peter dropped his backpack on the ground. "Pete. I want you to tell me exactly how school has been. Be honest, bud." Tony said firmly but with concern in his voice.

Peter gulped and did not dare look up at his guardian's eyes. "I-I got d-detention three times. And uh, I-I haven't been doing so well in my grades. I-I am s-sorry." Peter choked down a sob, desperately trying not to cry.

Tony deadpanned, turning to Pepper. She took a moment to think, "Peter, you are so smart. I don't understand why you are getting in trouble at school. We want to help you, but we can't do that if you don't tell us anything."

Peter remained silent.

Tony went around the counter to Peter and pointed at his backpack. "Get your backpack and find those detention slips, the missed homework, and the failed grades, _now_."

Peter immediately ran over, dug around in his backpack until he found all of what was asked for. Tony and Pepper looked over them for a few minutes. Tony was completely out of his league. He didn't know how to handle this. In the meantime, Peter just sat at the barstool and hid his face in his arms.

"Peter, look at me."

Peter looked up wide-eyed and he looked like a kicked puppy.

Tony said. "I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed and worried I am. I let the first couple of low grades go because I knew you were grieving and depressed. Are you still so depressed that you aren't ready for school yet?" **(too harsh?)**

"N-no, sir."

Tony rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, trying to think.

"I am really sorry, Mr. Stark. I am trying." Peter said, voice cracking.

Tony nodded. "Work on what you can tonight, and we will talk more later." Peter nodded and left without looking up once.

It had been several hours, and Peter hadn't been out of his room. Tony was worried and went up to check on him. "Pete."

Peter was lying face down in his pillow. He had hoped his sobs were quiet enough that Tony wouldn't hear. Unfortunately, a loud sob ripped through Peter, causing him to start coughing.

"Pete, are you okay?"

Peter managed to stop coughing, "yeah, I am fine."

Tony looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Pete, I want to help you through this. We will get a tutor or do whatever we need to do."

"I am sorry. I will do better. I p-promise."

Tony couldn't help but smile, "I know you will cause if you don't, I am going to kick that spider butt."

Peter looked wide-eyed at him. "No, n-no that won't be necessary." Tony ruffled Peter's hair and laughed. However, the conversation was interrupted when four-year old Morgan ran and jumped onto Peter's bed.

She climbed on top of Peter's shoulders. "Horsie. Horsie."

Peter quickly rubbed his eyes. He then ran up and down the halls and stairs with Morgan. Peter really enjoyed being a big brother to Morgan. She was the sweetest kid ever. A little while later, he realized there were no more giggles and screams. He went over to Morgan's room and carefully put the sleeping girl under the covers. He just smiled at her for a minute and then left the room to go join his guardians in the living room. They spent the rest of the evening watching a movie. Before the movie had ended, Peter himself fell asleep. His head resting on Tony's lap. He gently woke him up and guided the half-awake 13-year old to his bed. Tony could have never imagined his life without the two sleeping beauties next to him.

**Author's Note: Hope y'all enjoyed! The counseling appointment went differently than I had planned. I had planned for it to go super bad, but it went a different route. I just hate to make Peter seem so angry and sullen all the time. Anyways, the next chapter will be revolved around his birthday. Have a great week! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Peter's 14th birthday was a week away and he was not at all excited. It had been almost 3 months since Aunt May had passed away. Tony had asked Peter to join him in the lab on Sunday afternoon.

"So, Pete, what do you want for your birthday?" Tony asked while messing with a tool in his hand.

"Um, I don't need anything, Mr. Stark. I-" Peter was interrupted when Tony held his hand up.

"It's Tony. You can call me Tony. It's okay. " Tony said with a light tease in his voice.

Peter's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "Sorry, Tony."

Tony reached out and ruffled the kid's hair. He really hoped Peter was okay, or as okay as he could be, with all the changes going on. Thankfully, Peter started sleeping through the night more often.

However, their conversation and thoughts were interrupted once again by Jarvis. "Sir, young Morgan is attempting to enter the lab."

Tony rolled his eyes and went to the door. He knelt down to Morgan's height. She had a big smile on his face. "Morgan, you know you are not allowed to be down here."

"But Daddy, I wanted to play with Peter!"

Tony let out a huff. He turned around and looked at Peter. "Pete, Morgan wants you to play with her."

Peter set his pen and notebook down and ran to Morgan, scooping her up in his arms. He swung her around, held her down against his chest and tickled her. Tony watched, laughing at his two kids.

"Okay, you, goofballs, go back upstairs before you break something."

Peter held tightly to a giggling, squirming Morgan and ran up the stairs with her. By the time dinner was ready and Tony made his way to the kitchen from the lab, Morgan had fallen asleep on Peter's lap while watching a movie. The same movie (Moana) that Morgan was obsessed with.

Tony went over to the couch that they were at, "I see you wore her out, Pete."

"Yeah, she made me chase her around the tower for like an hour. She finally got tired, so I gave her a juice box and we decided to put a movie on." Tony just smiled and ruffled Pete's hair.

Pepper came in, "Dinner's ready. Wake Morgan up."

Tony gently started rubbing the little girl's back and arm and woke her up. She was starving and so was Peter.

After dinner, Pepper took Morgan upstairs and got her ready for bed. When Morgan had fallen asleep, Pepper joined Tony in the living room. Peter was at the kitchen bar, working on an essay. At 11 o'clock, Pepper decided to go to bed. Peter was still working on his essay. "Make sure you get some sleep, young man." Pepper told Peter lovingly.

"I will. I just wanted to get this essay done." Pepper nodded and kissed Peter on the forehead.

Tony had gotten up to get a water bottle and went over to the island that Peter was at. Tony grabbed the pen that Peter was using, handing him a soda.

"Hey." Peter said annoyed.

"Take a break." Tony said with a slightly serious tone.

Peter smirked at him, "Well I am now, 'cause you took my pen."

"You never told me what you wanted for your birthday, mister."

"Yeah, well we were interrupted by a cute little girl."

"Yeah well."

Peter sat in silence for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know what to ask for. I mean this is my first birthday without M-May."

Tony sighed, "I know Pete. I want you to do whatever makes you happy for your birthday. We can go eat somewhere or go anywhere you want. I could take you to Disneyland."

"Mr. Stark! I am 13 going on 14. Disneyland is the last thing I want to do." Peter said incredulously but halfway laughing.

"Fine, no Disneyland. Just think about it and let me know, okay?"

"Yes sir."

Tony ruffled his hair one last time. "Okay, goodnight kiddo."

"Can I have my pen back?"

Tony looked at the pen and smirked, "Hmm… you want this pen?"

Peter just rolled his eyes, "Duh…"

Tony threw the pen at him and Peter caught it, of course.

"Yes, you can have the pen back but don't stay up too much longer. You have school tomorrow."

Peter smiled, "I won't. I will have Jarvis inform me when it's midnight. Is that okay?" Tony nodded and gave Peter a shoulder squeeze.

The next morning, Tony went to Peter's bedroom, "Pete, time to wake up. You have school." Peter just groaned.

"Pete, wake up. Pepper made pancakes. Be downstairs in 15 minutes. Got it?"

Peter groaned into his pillow and nodded. Fifteen minutes later, Peter made his appearance in the kitchen, dressed for school. He wasn't fully awake yet. Pepper scooted the butter and syrup towards his stack of pancakes.

Tony came in, noticing Peter's dark circles under his eyes. The kid still wasn't getting a full night's sleep- which was something else that needed to be addressed. He went over and sat next to Peter.

"How are you doing, kiddo?"

"Just really tired." Peter mumbled.

"Get much sleep last night?" Tony asked, hoping that Peter would open up.

"Sure." Peter tried in attempt to get out of this conversation.

Tony rolled his eyes, grabbed Pete's arms until he was turned around-facing him.  
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but you have to sleep, bud. It's not healthy. What time did you go to bed last night?" Tony prodded sternly , but not angry.

Peter shrugged, hoping this conversation could be over.

"Peter, what time?" Tony sternly asked.

Peter looked everywhere but at Tony, trying to avoid his eyes. Tony snapped his fingers to get Peter's attention.

"What time, Peter? Stop playing this game and answer me."

"3 am, sir." Peter finally said.

It was like pulling teeth to get an answer out of him. Tony wondered how the counselor had so much patience. He knew that Peter was somewhat afraid because he tacked on that "sir" at the end of his answer.

"Pete, are you still having nightmares?"

"N-No, not really." Peter said, finally letting his tense body relax.

"Are you staying on your phone all night long?"

Uh-oh. Peter had been, but Mr. Stark couldn't blame him. He's a teenager and tech genius.

"Yes, but only because I couldn't sleep."

Tony gave out a little laugh. Peter was just like him, in that way.

"Pete, I am going to tell you this only because I care about you. If you can't sleep, come find me. No more being on your phone after you are sent to bed or go to bed. Got it?"

"But…" Peter wanted to argue.

"No buts. If I find out that you are on your phone, I will take it away."

Peter's jaw dropped at the threat. Tony had always been so patient and kind. Today, it was like his dad-mode was on or something.

"Peter. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes, I understand."

Tony got up from his seat, eyeing Peter suspiciously. A few minutes later, Peter was off to school. He figured the whole "stay off your phone" thing wouldn't last very long. Tony would be in ownership of that phone before he knew it. The kid was good, but he had a way of sneaking around and getting into trouble too. A couple of times, May would call Tony to go and rein Peter in from whatever he was getting into.

When the kids got home, Pepper had made cookies. Peter inhaled 12 cookies before going to his room. On most days, he went straight to the lab, but he was not in the mood. Tony always allowed Peter access to his lab from the very start. Peter decided to text Ned and work on some physics and calculus homework. Tony didn't see Peter until dinnertime.

"Hey, Pete. You have a lot of homework today? Never did come to the lab."

Peter thought quickly, "Um, yeah."

Tony didn't really believe Peter. He knew something was bothering him, but he didn't want to push. Tony went over too little Morgan. She was quite grumpy that evening because she hardly saw her brother. He didn't pay attention to her in the car and didn't play with her. During dinner, Morgan decided to ask Peter if she would help her read a book.

"Morgan, I don't want to tonight. Maybe some other night, okay?"

"B-but you always help me read!" Morgan began to cry. Pepper went over to soothe a now upset little girl.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Stop being such a baby. You don't always get your way." Peter spouted off.

Tony and Pepper both looked up in surprise. Peter's face flushed in embarrassment. He proceeded to load his plate in the dishwasher and walk up to his room, in complete silence. What surprised Peter the most was that neither Pepper nor Tony stopped him. Peter knew he just needed to sleep and forget the world, so he put his earbuds in and played music. With his birthday approaching, he realized he was just getting grumpier and more difficult with everyone. It was just because he missed May so much.

A little while later, there was a knock on his door. "Come in."

Tony walked in and sat on the edge of Pete's bed. "So, you want to tell me why you spouted off like that? It's not like you."

" I am sorry. I will apologize to Morgan right now." Peter started to get up, but Tony grabbed his arm.

He sat him back on the bed. "You can but Morgan's mad now. Right now, though, I want you to tell me what's on your mind."

Peter sighed. "I-I just miss May so much. I had a hard day at school too. Plus, it made my day worse when I got Ned and MJ mad at me. I really tried hard to keep my attitude in check today, but I-I failed miserably."

"You didn't spout off to a teacher, did you? Tell me the truth, Pete."

"I-I." Pete was so nervous.

"It's okay, Pete. You aren't in trouble. Just tell me the truth."

"I did."

"What did the teacher do to make you mad?"

"He just kept bragging about Flash, making everyone feel dumb. It just really pissed me off."

"What happened after that?"

"He pulled me aside when the bell rang. I think he was actually more concerned about me. I apologized to him for spouting off and he let me go."

"You were lucky that he didn't give you a detention."

"I am really sorry, Tony."

"It's not okay that you spouted off to a teacher, Pete. You aren't in trouble this time. I want you to talk to me when you're feeling sad. Cry on my shoulder, let it out, do what you need to do. Heck, if you need a day off from school, we can do that too."

"Yes, sir."

"I am serious, Pete. We are all here for you." Tony got up and pulled Peter into a tight hug. Peter nodded and began to softly cry into Tony's shirt. Peter held everything inside, usually, and all of his emotions just came out. Tony offered him comforting reassurance and rubbed circles on his back to end the kids now harsh sob.

When Pete's sobs turned into hiccups and coughing, Tony kissed his forehead, "Feel better?"

Pete nodded, sniffling, and wiped his eyes. Tony put his arm around Peter and led him into the living room. He sat Pete on the couch and grabbed him a soda out of the kitchen. Peter just rested his head on Tony's shoulder, while they watched tv.

Pepper came in a little while later. "Morgan finally fell asleep."

Tony nodded and nudged Peter. "I am sorry, Pepper for making her upset. It won't happen again."

Pepper gave a small smile to Peter. "It's okay, Pete. She still loves you. She was actually more worried about you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"We already did." Tony said before Peter could answer.

Pepper smiled and said, "Good. Did you finish your homework?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Go to bed, mister. No staying up until three, young man." Peter nodded and went off to bed.

**Author's Note: I am beginning to wonder if Peter is getting too comfortable around Tony… Maybe- maybe not? Who knows? Anyway, next chapter is his actual birthday. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The day was finally here! He was officially fourteen! Peter had woken up fairly early. Pepper had made him his favorite breakfast- French toast with tons of fruit! She made a huge stack for Peter. When he went into the kitchen and saw the huge stack of food, he immediately sat down at the bar.

"Thank you! 'S so good!"

Pepper ruffled his hair and chuckled, "Don't choke on your food. Tony wants to see you down in the lab to go over what you wanted to do today."

Peter nodded and scarfed down all of his food. He then washed and dried his dishes and went down to the lab.

"Happy birthday, Pete." Tony said when Peter came into the lab.

"Thanks."

"So, I know Pepper made you a huge breakfast. I want to know what you would like to do today."

"Could Ned come over? I hardly have had a chance to see him besides school."

"Sure. And you know you can have Ned over anytime. You want to have several of your friends over?"

"Um, no thanks. Do you think I could g-go by the cem-cemetary?"

Tony didn't seem surprised at all. He had actually wondered if Peter was ever going to ask.

"Sure thing, Pete. Would you like for me to go with you or Ned?"

"Uh yeah actually that would be good."

"Do you want Pepper to get some flowers?" Peter never asked for anything, so Tony wanted to do whatever Peter was comfortable with.

"I mean if she has time or wants to."

"She would be happy to." Peter nodded. They spent about an hour at the cemetery that morning.

That afternoon, Ned came to the tower. "Hey, Ned. I am so happy you are here!" Peter said.

"Yeah me too, bro! Dude your house is huge?"

"Yeah I know it is great!"

"What all is here?"

"I can give you a tour later, but basically the first three floors are the Stark Industry offices for workers and the next two floors up are for labs and research. Above that, is a car garage, pool, library, bowling alley. Each of those have their own or share a floor. Then there is the commons floor for the avengers. They have their own living space. The last couple of floors are Tony's lab, house, and then Pep's office above us and a helicopter pad above her. And outside, we have another pool, hot tub, tennis and basketball courts, and we have the storage buildings and other research facilities." **(idk)**

"Wow! Do you ever get lost?"

"No, we have FRIDAY to help people not get lost."

"FRIDAY?"

"Yeah the AI that basically can do everything and anything."

"Sweet!"

The boys made their way to Pete's room. "Tony said we could visit his lab later and he could show you some stuff." Ned's eyes got wide.

"Really? I can see Iron Man's lab?"

"Of course, bro!"

Ned looked around Pete's room. "Dude, this room is bigger than my parents' house put together. You have everything a kid could ask for."

"All this stuff was in here when I first came to live here. Of course, I was like a walking zombie at first."

"That's understandable."

The boys continued to chat. Finally, they decided to pull out a brand-new Lego set of the Millennium Falcon.

Tony knocked on the door, "Hey boys, I thought we could order pizza and have some birthday cake. There is also presents to open, Peter."

"Sounds great!" both boys said at the same time!

Jarvis alerted the boys when the pizza arrived. Morgan was bouncing around. Peter put Morgan on his shoulders and ran around with her. She ate a couple of slices of pizza and then had Peter and Ned chase her around outside. It was all fun and games until she fell and skinned her knee outside. Peter carried her in, bandaged her knee, and cuddled her until she stopped crying.

"Ready to open presents, Pete?" Tony asked.

The boys had settled on the couch with Morgan and were watching a movie.

Peter nodded, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but you're my kid and you deserve to open something." Peter smiled and hugged Tony and Pepper. He began opening his presents: Bluetooth headphones and a new smartphone. His screen was cracked, and Tony had noticed that Pete's fingers were bruised and scabbed from being cut by the screen glass. Ned gave Peter a couple of video games for his Nintendo Switch. Pepper gave him a really expensive watch. Morgan was so happy because Peter let her help open the last couple of gifts. She had really wanted to help open them from the start, but Tony told her no, so she sat on his knee and watched. When the gifts had been opened, the boys and Morgan grabbed the paper and put it in the trash.

Tony decided to invite the boys down to the lab, "Ned, you want to check out the lab?"

Ned was so ecstatic and agreed immediately. Pete couldn't help but laugh at his friend's excitement.

Morgan chimed in, "Can I please go to, daddy?"

"No, Morgan. You are not quite old enough yet."

"I won't touch anything. I promise. Please!"

Tony gave her a stern look, "Morgan, the answer is no."

Morgan folded her arms and let out a loud huff. Peter decided to try to make her feel better by asking Tony if she could come down there, if he put her on his shoulders or held her.

"Okay. Just this once. But Morgan, you cannot touch anything, and you have to stay with Peter. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes! Thank you, daddy!"

Tony decided to warn her, "If I see that you are getting too wild and not listening to Peter, you will be sent straight back upstairs. Got it?" Morgan in all of her cuteness said,

"Yes sir."

Tony was an old softy, but was very strict about the lab, especially because people could be hurt if they weren't careful. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Morgan. Tony showed Ned around while Peter followed closely behind with Morgan on his shoulders. Ned and Morgan asked several questions, that ended up being really intelligent questions. Peter handed Morgan over to Tony when he showed Ned some of his stuff that he was working on. Afterwards, Morgan went straight back onto Pete's shoulders while they went to the floor with all of Tony's cars. Tony reminded Morgan that the same rules applied.

"Wow, Mr. Stark, you have so many cool cars here!" Ned exclaimed.

"Pretty cool, huh? Tell you what, when you get your license, I will buy you any car you want. Same goes for Peter and Morgan." Ned and Peter's jaws dropped to the floor.

"Really?!" both boys exclaimed.

Tony chuckled, "Yes of course. If you crash it, you're on your own." The boys chuckled and went back to Pete's room.

The week that followed was good for Peter. He seemed to be getting better a little every day. But the call from the school that came was not what Tony had expected on Friday.

"Hi, this is Principle Morita. I need to speak to Peter Parker's guardian."

"This is Tony Stark. Everything okay?" Tony said. He held his breath, wondering what was going on.

"Peter didn't show up to his third period or fourth period class."

"What?" Tony immediately began tracking Peter's cell.

"He will have to serve detention for skipping class." Principle Morita stated.

"I understand. I will find him, and he will be back Monday." Tony said as he continued to try to figure out where his kid was.

Dang. The kid had turned his cell off. Tony thought for a moment about where Peter could have possibly gone. Then he remembered it was May's birthday today and he had totally forgotten. No wonder the kid was so down. Tony was not happy that Peter had left but he was more concerned that he had turned his cell off. So, he took off in his car to find Peter. When he got there, Peter was walking around sullenly. Tony got out of the car, walking towards Peter who looked slightly surprised and ashamed.

"What are you doing here?" Tony knew the answer, but he wanted the kid to answer.

"Uh- I- I am sorry for leaving school." Peter said looking at his feet.

"Not what I asked, Peter."

"It's May's birthday. I just wanted to see her." His voice cracking with emotion.

Tony nodded his head in understanding. "Why did you turn your cell off?"

"Just wanted to be alone."

Tony didn't know how to handle this. He wasn't happy but he understood the reason behind Peter's actions. "Let's go home, Pete."

Peter followed him to the car. The ride was silent but comfortable. When they got to the tower, Tony ordered the kid to his room.

A little while later, Tony went to Peter's room. A small "come in" was heard after Tony knocked on the door. When he came in, Pete was sitting on his bed, looking miserable with shame.

"Pete, I know why you left school. You know you could have just asked me to stay home today. I wouldn't have said no."

"I am sorry, sir." Pete said, refusing to look up.

"I know kid. Turning your cell off is the thing that makes me mad more than anything. That's not a good idea even if you are Spiderman." Tony stated firmly.

Peter bit his lip and nodded in understanding. Tony came over and sat next to him.

"I love you, kid. I just want to make sure you are safe. I can't do that when I don't know where you are. Pete, your school called, so you have detention when you go back Monday. You, spider-ling, are also grounded for the weekend." Tony said. Wow, he never thought that he would have to go dad-mode with a teen. It was easier to handle a five-year-old.

Peter didn't say anything, other than nod his head.

"Hand over your phone, Pete." Tony finally said.

Peter handed him his phone, without much argument. He knew he probably deserved it.

"You will get it back Monday, kiddo." Tony said as he pocketed the phone. "Now, that the hard part is over, what about getting pizza and a movie?"

Peter looked up and a smile across his face. "Really?"

"Enjoy it. It's your only tv or movie for the weekend." Tony said.

"Well then, pizza and a movie sounds great!" Peter said as he rushed to the living room.

**Author's Note: Well, looks like Tony finally braved up and grounded Peter, even if it is just for the weekend. Don't worry, the whole "Spiderman" part is coming, but not yet. Also, there will be more counseling appointments, but I need some time to come up with what will lead up to it and how it will go down. For now, I hope y'all have enjoyed this chapter. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: **

Peter's weekend grounding passed rather quickly. Tony was really surprised that the kid wasn't moody from having his phone taken away. When Peter woke up Monday morning, Tony was happy to see the kid's dark circles under his eyes lightening a little from the dark bruised color. When Peter sat down to eat his bowl of cereal, Tony handed over Pete's phone.

"On at all times. Understand?" Tony's gaze was stern.

"Yes, sir." Peter said, taking his phone back with a smile. Finally, he could transfer over from his old one to the new one he had gotten for his birthday.

"Hey, Tony. When do I have to go back to see the counselor?" Peter asked, finishing his last bit of cereal.

"I am leaving it up to you. Do you need to go again? We can if you need to." Tony said, not wanting to push.

"N-No I am okay." Peter said honestly.

"Time for school, kiddo. Happy will take you." Tony pointed to the elevator and snatched Peter's arm to give him a quick kiss on the head. Peter blushed but smiled. It felt really good to see Peter smiling. It had been awhile.

The next day, Tony and Pepper had officially gotten the adoption of Peter legalized. So, Peter was officially a Stark! He was in such good spirits and everything felt normal again! He still had times when his heart was breaking for May. That evening after they went out for dinner to celebrate, Tony and Peter were in the lab working. Peter was helping to figure out some new ideas for the iron man suits. After spending several hours, they finished in the lab and went straight to sleep. Peter slept all the way through again. It was so amazing to see how much progress he had been making in his sleeping pattern.

Peter had spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday serving his detention for skipping school. Seriously, three days seemed a little extreme. At least, Peter got his homework done during that time. When he got home from school, Tony saw Peter pull out a ridiculously huge paper packet, which Peter dramatically plopped on the kitchen island.

Tony's eyes went huge and rolled them, "They expect you to do that over the upcoming holiday?!"

"Yep."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. They want us to do this and complete a reading list."

Tony stared at the packet. "You sure you wouldn't rather just skip the whole high school thing and go straight to college?"

"No, I am fine. Thanks, besides, I think they give out as much or more." Peter said.

"Give me half and I will work on it."

Peter looked around sheepishly, "Mr. Stark isn't that cheating?"

"No, kid. You already know all this stuff."

"Yeah but the teachers can tell the difference in our handwriting. Then I will be in trouble."

"Kid, listen, I don't want you stressing out about this packet or the reading list. Got it?"

Peter smiled and nodded. "I won't, Tony. I promise."

"Good and you are still giving me half." Peter finally gave in and handed half to Tony.

"Fine Tony, but if I get in trouble, it is your fault."

Tony playfully shoved Peter, "Brat." Peter laughed. Tony was really glad Peter was feeling back to his normal self.

That evening, Tony ordered pizza and Chinese food. When Peter saw the food on the island, he ran over and grabbed a paper plate. He immediately filled it with several slices of pizza and three boxes of Chinese food.

Tony watched Peter amusingly, "Dang, Pete. I am glad to see you have an appetite. You're going to drain my bank account at this rate."

Peter scoffed incredulously and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You're a billionaire, Iron Man."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Wow, I have taught you well. The sass came from me 100 %."

"Sure, Tin Man." Peter laughed taking his food back to the living room. Morgan giggled at that and Tony playfully glared at her.

"Traitor." Tony said playfully to Morgan, as she stuck her tongue out in response.

"FRIDAY, play The Time of The Time of the Gypsies." Peter said.

Tony and Morgan said, "NO!" in unison.

Pepper said, "Good choice, Pete. And you two-" Pepper said pointing at Tony and Morgan, "No bashing the Time of The Time of the Gypsies."

Tony looked over at Morgan, smiling, "Mohuna, I give you explicit permission to tackle Peter and bash his knucklehead brain in for liking this movie."

Morgan giggled. She got up and shoved Peter playfully. He dramatically fell over on the floor and Morgan got on top of him. They wrestled for a few minutes until Morgan couldn't stop laughing.

"Mr. Stark, I think her tickle box turned over." Peter said.

Morgan scoffed and grabbed a slice of Pete's pizza, "Thanks, Spidey."

Peter's jaw dropped, "Morgan H. Stark, I am going to tickle you for taking a piece of my pizza."

After that the movie night was stopped for a half hour because Peter and Morgan were being silly and tackling each other playfully. Finally, the two kids settled down and laid on the couch after Tony told them to settle down, when they nearly knocked over one of the DUM-E robots. About halfway through, Tony turned to see Morgan soundly asleep on Peter's lap. When the movie was over, Peter scooped her up and got her to bed. A week later, Peter was working on some projects with Tony down in the lab. Peter seemed a bit down and Tony thought working in the lab would be a good distraction. He knew that Christmas would be coming up, it would be hard on Peter. Pepper and Morgan were out buying some decorations for the house. Peter was overly quiet.

Tony came over to Peter, "Everything okay, bud?" Peter nodded, not saying anything. He didn't even look up at Tony. "You would tell me if something is bothering you, right? Pete?"

"Yeah, Tony." Peter said, his voice cracked. Dang it.

"Look at me Pete."

Pete looked up. His eyes looked sad and Tony could tell he was about to break down.

" C'mere." Tony pulled Peter in for a hug and kissed his head.

"Sorry." Pete whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. What's on your mind, Pete?"

"I just miss May."

"I know, bud."

"Can we-I mean- can I" Peter trailed off when he broke into a soft sob.

Tony just hugged him tighter, kissing him again. "Shh, it's okay, bud."

Finally, Peter wiped at his eyes and sniffled.

"You okay now, Pete?" Tony asked checking Peter over to make sure he was really okay.

"Yes sir." Peter whispered.

"Now what were you going to ask me?" Tony pushed.

"Oh, uh, can I go to the cemetery tomorrow to see them?"

"Of course." Tony patted Peter's shoulder and gave him another small kiss on the head.

When Peter pulled away, he asked one final question. "Tony, can you make me another appointment?"

Tony turned to look at Peter, "Are you sure?"

Peter nodded in response.

"I will have FRIDAY make you an appointment." Tony smiled a little, still worried about the kid.

Tony pulled up to the grave site. Peter slowly unbuckled and got out. "Take all the time you need. If you need me, let me know."

Peter nodded. Pete sat on the ground, resting his head on his knees. He was trying his hardest to not cry. He had been doing so well lately. After 15 minutes, Tony came out to check on Peter.

"You okay, bud?"

Peter was too embarrassed to look up, because dang it, he was crying. "I miss them, all of them." Peter said flatly, trying not to show his real emotion.

Tony came over and sat next to Peter. He put an arm around Peter. Peter laid his head on Tony's shoulder. "It's okay to cry."

"I know, Tony. It's just- I am tired of crying."

Tony sighed. He knew the kid was so tired of crying. "I understand but just know it's okay to cry."

"I am not a baby." Peter said abruptly and a little more harshly than he intended. His mouth went dry, figuring Tony would give him the lecture he had heard several times before about being respectful.

Instead, Tony got up, squeezing his shoulder, "I know bud. You are a very brave and strong 14-year-old. No one should go through what you have been through, especially at your age. It is okay to grieve, Peter." Tony said with a bit of firmness.

Peter sighed, standing up, "I know, Tony. I am sorry. You were just trying to help." Tony smiled a little.

"I am ready to go home now." Pete said, dusting off his jeans.

A little while later, Tony pulled up to an ice cream shop. "Let's have some ice cream, kid."

Peter didn't say anything. Tony looked over, "Kid?"

"You want to get me ice cream, even though I was rude to you at the cemetery?"

"Pete, I know you didn't mean it the way you said. I am not mad Pete. I will tell you if I ever am, believe me. Besides, ice cream is the best distraction ever."

Peter smiled, "Thank you, Tony." Peter order 3 cups of ice cream each with 3 scoops of different flavors.

When they got home, Peter crashed on the couch. He was really tired. Tony came over to tell Peter something but saw the teen sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep. Tony smiled at the teen and laid a blanket over him, gently patting Pete's back. An hour and a half later, Peter woke up from the smell of coffee that Tony was making. Peter sat up, wincing and rubbed at his arm a little. He must have slept on it wrong.

"Hungry, Pete?"

Peter nodded.

Tony took out a plate that had a ridiculously huge sandwich on it. Peter inhaled it in about 3 minutes, it was the emotional toll of the day.

**Author's Note: I may have to do a time jump eventually (ex: a couple of months) because so far this has been day to day or week to week. I am starting to run out of ideas, even though I had a lot of this written. There will be another appointment in the next chapter! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Peter was always amazed at how quickly Tony could get him an appointment with Dr. Zhago, or any doctor for that matter. Peter had literally asked the night before if he could come back, and here they were waiting to see the counselor. He had his earbuds in listening to music while squeezing Tony's hand, like a six-year-old. Tony realized what Peter was doing but didn't say anything. A few minutes later, Dr. Zhago called them in.

"So, Peter, how have you been?" Dr. Zhago asked, as they sat down from across each other. Tony held back near the door, staying if the kid needed him.

"Oh, uh I am okay. " Peter said.

"Don't you have a sister?"

"Oh- she is my step sister- I guess. I mean Tony legalized the adoption."

"Do you get to see her much?"

"Quite a lot, actually. She needs a lot of attention." Peter said, with a smile on his face.

"How you doing emotionally?" Dr. Zhago was hoping to get to the issue, since Peter didn't talk much at the first appointment.

"I-its…" Peter paused. He didn't know how to put it into words.

Tony came over, sensing the kid needed some support. Peter squeezed his hand again and looked at him pleadingly and nervously.

"It's okay, Peter." Both Tony and Dr. Zhago said at the same time.

Peter took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control, that he seemed to have lost.

Dr. Zhago realized maybe if Tony stepped outside, Peter would open up.

"Peter, would you like for Tony to step outside. Would that make you feel better?"

Tony glared at him but gave Peter a soft smile. Within seconds of the question, Peter paled and started sobbing.

"No, no, no, no, no. Please, don't g-go Tony. P-please I need you!"

"I am not going anywhere, Peter. It's okay." Tony said, trying to calm Peter down.

After a few more minutes, Tony led Peter to the car and drove home. Well the appointment was really no improvement from the last one.

When they got home, Peter had calmed down and felt a little better. He was starting to not like this counselor. Tony, Pepper, Morgan, and Peter made their way to a restaurant, but Tony was not expecting the panic attack that happened. Peter was doing fine until the waitress came over. He tried not to think about how much she looked like May. It was his turn to order, but he couldn't seem to find words.

"Peter, you okay, bud?"

Peter shook his head, "I need some fresh air." Peter got up and went outside.

Tony ordered for him. Peter couldn't breathe and tears were coming down his face. He felt sick and before he knew it, he threw up all over himself. Tony stepped out and saw Pete crying.

"God, Pete. What happened?"

Peter was just sobbing and choked out, "I am sorry. I am sorry."

He called Happy to come pick them up. Peter kept saying sorry over and over.

"Shh, it's okay bud."

Happy brought a change of clothes for Peter and paid for the food, getting Morgan in her car seat. He calmed her down because she didn't know what was going on. Meanwhile, Tony got Peter up and changed into some clean clothes. Peter was half-way sobbing and heaving at the same time. Tony gently guided him to a booth. The waitress and manager went over to Peter who was now in clean clothes, brought him a Sprite to sip on. Peter could hardly calm down enough to take a sip. Tony sat with him and laid some wet paper towels on his head and neck. Finally, Peter calmed down enough and laid his head back on the bench.

"You're okay, Pete." Tony said gently. "Let's get you home and have Dr. Banner make sure you aren't sick."

"I am so tired."

"I know bud. You can sleep afterwards. I promise."

When they got to the car, Happy was holding Morgan in his arms. Tony went over, "Is she okay?"

"She was just scared about Peter."

Tony rubbed Morgan's back. "Mohuna, Pete's okay."

Tony grabbed Morgan, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and put her in the car. Tony called Dr. Banner on the way to the tower. When they got to the med bay, Peter was extremely weak and was sleepy. "M-Mr. Stark, I am s-sorry."

Tony shushed him, "You have nothing to be sorry about. Do you understand me?"

Peter nodded, wanting to sob but was to tired. Dr. Banner looked him over and gave him some medicine for the nausea. He put a heart monitor clip on his finger and a blood pressure cuff around his arm. He then proceeded to do an IV to pump Peter up with liquids. Tony carded his hands through Peter's hair.

"Well, Pete, looks like you are extremely stressed out. I know with everything going on, stress can make you sick. No internship for a week and no overexerting yourself. Also, Tony, he needs to open up because if he has been bottling up grief, it can cause this." Bruce said.

Tony nodded giving Peter a small smile.

Bruce then turned to Peter, "I want to keep you on IV's, but we can transport you to your room. Peter, you got to tell us when anything is bothering you, understand?" Peter nodded. His eyes were heavy.

When they got Peter to his room, he was almost asleep. Tony sat next to him and turned the TV on low. It was going to be a rough night and it was Christmas Eve. A couple of hours later, Peter woke up. He was still nauseated and felt weak.

"Hey kid, how are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"Uh a little nauseated."

"Okay, just try to relax."

Peter closed his eyes and the next thing he knew Dr. Banner was standing over him. He was checking his blood pressure and heart rate.

"Hey Pete. I am going to keep on IV another hour and see how you are. After the hour, we will try some liquid and see if you keep it down, okay?"

Peter nodded and turned to look up at Tony, "Sorry for ruining everything."

Tony looked at him firmly and with as much seriousness as he could muster, he said, "You do not need to apologize, Peter. You are a part of this family. You didn't ruin anything. Got it, underoos?"

Peter's eyes filled with tears, "Y-yes, Mr. Stark." His voice hoarse.

No matter how sick he was, he was determined to go visit May.

Peter was a good kid, but lately Tony could tell something was off. He figured it was probably just the holiday season approaching. Late that evening, Peter was laying in his bed, miserable. He was missing May terribly and wanted to go to the cemetery, again. He finally put his earbuds in and his hoodie on. He climbed out the window hoping to make it to the cemetery and back without getting caught. God, if he got caught, no telling how much trouble he would be in. He made it to the cemetery and turned his phone off. He was lying next to the grave when Tony found him. Peter stood on his feet startled when he saw Tony standing above him. He must have dozed off there in the cemetery.

"I am so s-sorry, Mr. Stark. ' ." Peter trailed off when Mr. Stark put his hand up.

"Take a breath, Pete. Slow down." Peter exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. Tony grabbed Pete's shoulders, "Look at me, Pete." Peter opened his eyes, afraid of what Tony might look like.

He seemed more concerned than anything else. Peter's eyes filled with tears. Tony wasn't sure what he was going to do, but right now the kid needed a hug.

So, he did, he pulled Peter into a hug, "Let's go home, Pete."

The ride to the tower was silent. The only sound was Peter sniffling and occasionally a hand going up to wipe his eyes. Peter tried to make a beeline for his room, but Tony caught him.

"Ah, ah, bud. Let's go sit on the couch."

Thankfully, Pepper and Morgan were asleep since it was one in the morning. Peter made his way to the couch, wishing he could bolt but realized that would only make the situation worse.

Tony came over and sat across from him, "Pete, you sneaking out of this house is unacceptable. It will not happen again. Also, I have said this many times, that if something is bothering you, to come talk to me. You could have asked to visit the cemetery and we would have gone in the daylight. I don't care if you are Spider-man or not, no 14-year-old boy should be going out on the streets of New York by himself at night. You could have gotten hurt and I wouldn't have known it. And you want to know why? Because your phone was turned off. Not to mention, you are sick!"

Peter just stared at his feet, his face burning at the lecture he was getting. This reminded him of when Tony gave him a lecture about the ferry incident.

"I – I am sorry, Mr. Stark." Peter whispered, voice cracking.

Tony stared at him with a firm look on his face. "I know kid, but it doesn't excuse the little stunt you pulled tonight."

When the kid didn't say anything, Tony continued, "Alright, I am done lecturing. Let's get some sleep."

Peter just put his knees up and buried his head in his arms. He started crying loud enough that Tony could hear him. Tony had been a little hard on him, but he needed to be in this case. Tony went over and sat next to Pete. For a minute, Tony didn't say anything. "What's bothering you, Pete?"

Peter just sobbed in response. "Pete."

Peter finally looked up at him, his eyes red. "S-sorry, Mr. Stark. I-I want M-May back."

"I know you do, Pete." Tony said softly. Tony grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge and handed it to Peter.

When Peter calmed down, Tony said, "Feeling better?"

"A little. I really am sorry for sneaking out again. I should have just asked. Won't do it again." Tony went over to Peter, giving him a hug. He then gave Pete a kiss and whispered some loving reassurance to Peter. He then sent him to bed.

"Get some sleep, bud." Tony said as Peter got comfortable under the covers. Pete still seemed sad, so Tony sat on the edge of the bed, "What's making you so sad, kid?"

"I just miss my parents and my aunt and uncle." Tony bent down and gave Peter a kiss on the head.

"I know bud. It is going to be okay. You know you're grounded again right?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded and was going to hand him his phone. Tony shook his head and Peter was confused.

"Not your phone. If you keep turning your phone off, I am going to put a tracker on you and believe me when I say, you won't like it."

Peter nodded his head in understanding, not wanting a permanent tracker. So, with that in the back of his mind, Tony also told him that he was grounded for a whole week, rather than just three days. Peter knew not to argue because he deserved it, this was the second time.

The next day, Peter slept in until noon, since he had been up late into the early morning. Tony had allowed Peter to stay home from school. However, it was going to be a long boring day since he couldn't use his phone or any electronics. And to top it all off, he wasn't allowed in the lab for the week. Peter laid on the couch, moaning when Tony came over to check on him.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better than I was yesterday."

"Good. Need any medicine?"

Peter shook his head.

"Bored?"

"Yes, sir."

Tony chuckled a little and ruffled Pete's hair.

"You should try to sleep some since you aren't in school. You're still sick."

Peter nodded. He was actually tired. To his surprise, Tony came over and sat down, putting Peter's feet in his lap. Before Tony knew it, the kid was out like a light. He would need to wake him up in a couple of hours, so Bruce could check on Pete. Leave Bruce with a grumpy, grounded teenager… ha… jokes on Bruce.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Author's Note: I know the last couple of chapters have been really depressing… I promise things will get better. I was looking through what I had already written that has not yet been posted. However, I think I am going to start fresh, so everything you will be reading from now on is new material. Enjoy! **

Peter was so bored- beyond bored- if there is even such a word. It was only the second full day of being grounded, not that it was a new concept to him. Sure, he had been grounded by May several times, but this was probably the worst because he was sick. Plus, not to mention, Tony and Dr. Banner had put him under strict bed rest for four days. He thought maybe Tony would have a heart and at least let him watch a movie, but no. He was grounded and therefore couldn't do anything besides eat, stare at the ceiling, and sleep. Tony would bring him food and stay with him while he ate and even laid in bed with him to talk and stare at the ceiling.

By day three, Peter was sure he was going to die of boredom and loneliness- even though Tony would come check on him.

"Pete, how are you feeling?" Dr. Banner asked as he opened the door, with Tony following close behind.

"I am going to die of boredom." Peter said, glaring at Tony briefly.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him. "Take a nap, it will make the time go by faster."

" M not sleepy in the least." Peter said, bored almost to tears.

"Can't I just go lay on the couch in your office while you work?"

Tony and Bruce looked at each other for a moment. "No. Bedrest."

Peter rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically. Bruce checked him over and told Peter it would be good if he could take a nap. Peter reminded him once again that he was in no way tired. Bruce went back to the kitchen to talk to Tony.

"How is he?" Tony asked

"Other than dying of boredom, he seems to be doing better physically. How have the counseling appointments been going?"

"Uh- not much progress. Peter's refusing to talk about it."

Bruce rubbed his hands on his face briefly, "You are going to have to make that kid talk."

"Believe me, I have tried." Tony said sounding frustrated.

Bruce shook his head. "No, I mean make him whether he wants to or not."

"He will just blow up, get angry and run off again."

"Not unless he knows that you are here to help him through it." Bruce reminded gently.

"He knows. I tell him that a lot."

"Keep reminding him. He clearly is letting that go in one ear and out the other."

A couple of hours later, Friday had alerted them that Peter was hungry. So, Tony quickly heated up some food and made his way to Peter's room.

"Hey kiddo, I brought you food. Take a nap?" Tony asked, as he handed Peter the plate of food.

Peter nodded, still waking up. Tony let Peter eat in peace and laid down next to him getting comfortable. When Peter finished eating, he looked up at Tony with those big brown, puppy dog eyes.

"Can we please watch a movie?" Peter whined.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something." Tony said.

Peter just mumbled an "oh".

"It's been several weeks since May's funeral. You need to tell me what is going on in that brain of yours." Tony patiently said.

"I don't want to." Peter mumbled, looking everywhere but at Tony.

"Peter. It isn't healthy for you to keep all that stored up in you. Do you know what Bruce told me that made you sick?"

"No. I figured it was just the flu."

"Peter, it wasn't the flu. You know you can't actually get sick anymore. He said it was stress and grief." Tony said. Gees, it was like pulling teeth to get this kid to talk.

Peter didn't say anything.

"Peter."

Nothing.

"Peter." Tony stated more firmly. "Look at me."

Peter slowly did. Tony could have sworn the kid was actually getting emotional.

"I" Tony said pointing at himself, "care about you so much. It hurts to see you in so much pain. I want you to talk to me. Open up a little. You are my kid. I don't want to see you continue living like this. Let me help you, please."

Peter stared at him for a moment and a tear slipped down his cheek.

Success, Tony thought. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

Before, Peter could say anything, Tony wrapped both arms around him. Peter finally broke. Tony wasn't really sure how long he sat there as Peter cried and cried. He let Peter cry himself out and did his best to comfort him. After a long while, Peter stopped crying.

"I- I am sorry."

Tony looked him straight in the eye, "Don't apologize for needing to cry."

"I-I just miss them so much and I-I k-know that you're my family now but…" Peter trailed off.

"But what, Peter?"

"I feel like I am betraying them." Peter mumbled.

Tony didn't say anything. He wasn't angry at all. He understood where Peter was coming from.

"Tony, I love you." Peter smiled when he said that, looking up at Tony.

Tony hugged the teen tighter with relief. "I love you too, kid, more than you know. They would want you to be happy, Pete. I am sure they would be glad to know that you were living with someone, rather than out on the streets. Don't you think?" **(dang it, almost made myself cry writing this.) **

Peter nodded in agreement. "It has been a huge change, but I am really happy here."

"You should be happy. Change is hard for anyone, spider-ling." Tony said, happy that he had finally gotten something out of Peter.

After a moment of silence, Peter looked up at Tony. "Since you love me so much and want me to be happy, can we watch a movie now or better yet unground me?"

Tony snorted. "I do love you but that would have to be a no on both of those."

Peter mumbled something which Tony could have sworn sounded like jerk. Oh, ho, Tony was going to get him back for that. Tony was getting ready to tickle the kid so hard, but when he looked down, Peter was sound asleep with a smile on his face.

Finally, Peter was allowed out of his bed! He was able to eat dinner with Tony, Pepper, and Morgan. He seemed to be feeling better and Tony seemed to notice a positive change in Peter's attitude and spirit. After dinner, Tony allowed Peter to start on some of the homework and assignments that he missed while being sick. He attempted to work on an essay, but it was difficult considering he hadn't exactly read the book. After getting practically nowhere with the essay, Peter closed his laptop and groaned in frustration. He laid his head down on top of his laptop and must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew Pepper was gently shaking him awake and sending him to bed.

Before Peter knew it, his grounding was over! Thank God- it had been the longest week of his life. That morning, Tony made Peter some breakfast and noticed Morgan come running into the kitchen. She ran straight over to Tony, putting her arms up. Tony smiled at her, picking her up, "Come here kiddo! What you doing?"

Morgan rubbed his hair playfully. "Can we go see a movie or go to the zoo? Please, daddy!"

Tony smiled. "I don't see why not. Where is your mother?"

"She in the office." Morgan stated ever so cutely.

Tony looked over at Peter, who was stuffing his face with food. "Pete? Gees, kid, slow down. Movie or zoo?"

It took a second for Peter to swallow his food. He smiled a little, "I would love to, but I have homework."

Tony rolled his eyes, "First of all, you're a genius. It won't kill you to take a break. Second, we haven't done anything together in awhile."

Morgan squirmed out of Tony's arms and went over to Peter, whispering something in his ear.

Peter laughed, "Movie then, Mr. Stark, on one condition."

Tony raised his eyebrows, "And what is that condition?"

Peter smiled and winked at Morgan, who broke into giggles. "You take us for ice cream also or you let us buy as much food at the theater as we can."

Tony was happy to see Peter smiling and being his old self, even if it was just for a little while. "How about this, you two convince Happy or Rhodey to come with us?"

Peter and Morgan looked at each other and whispered to each other for a second. "Deal, Mr. Stark." Peter said.

Peter cleared his plate. He was still tired from being sick. So, he made his way to his room. He ended up falling asleep, in the middle of looking at pictures on his phone. Tony knocked on the door softly. When there was no answer, he opened the door to see Pete sound asleep. He carefully took Pete's phone that was loose in his hand and set it aside. When he grabbed the phone, it vibrated with a text from Ned. Tony saw a picture of May, Ben, and a young Pete and Ned on his phone. He smiled but his heart broke, figuring the kid either cried himself to sleep or was just really tired. Tony debated for a moment if he should wake the kid up or let him asleep.

He gently rubbed Pete's shoulder, "Pete, time to wake up. We need to get ready to go."

Pete groaned.

"You still up to going to the movie?" Peter smiled and nodded, despite being sleepy.

Peter sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. Tony noticed the kid's eyes were slightly red.

"You really okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah of course, Tony."

"Remember, we are all here for you and I love you."

"I know." Pete said, sighing.

Tony wasn't sure if he believed the kid was really okay, but he didn't want to push.

Morgan had successfully convinced Rhodey to come with them to the movie. When they got to the theater, the kids chose the movie of their choice

. While, Tony was busy paying and keeping an eye on Morgan, Rhodey pulled Peter aside for a second. As they put liquid butter into the two large bags of popcorn, Rhodey asked "How you holding up, bud?"

"Oh, I am okay."

Rhodey nodded. Tony and Morgan came over with two full trays of various treats and food.

Rhodey's eyes went big, "Tones, you expect us to eat all of that?"

Tony smiled, "Well these two" He said pointing at Peter and Morgan, "will eat most of it."

Morgan stuck her tongue out at Tony. Pete high-fived her as a result.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Alright, let's go find our seats, troublemakers."

About half-way through the movie, Rhodey nudged Tony to look at Peter who was asleep.

He leaned over to Tony, "Poor kid, he is so tired."

Tony nodded in agreement. Peter woke up startled, breathing hard. Tony went over and sat next to Peter.

He whispered, "You okay, Pete?"

"Uh yeah, I- I am okay."

The movie ended and Morgan volunteered to throw away all the trash. She went over to Tony, "Ice cream now, daddy?"

Tony noticed Peter looked pale and tired. "I don't think Pete feels good. Let's get him home and then Rhodey or Happy can take you okay?" Morgan nodded.

Peter was almost asleep when they got back to the tower. Morgan had fallen asleep too. Tony grabbed Morgan and put her on one couch. Rhodes helped Pete to the other couch. After getting the two kids settled, Tony called Bruce to come check on Peter and make sure he was still okay.

A few minutes later, Bruce came in and carefully checked Peter. Peter was in and out of dozing. When he was done, Bruce went over to Tony in the kitchen.

"He is not sick. Let him sleep. Get it out of his system."

Tony nodded, "Thanks, Bruce. I appreciate it."

A couple of hours later, Pete woke up and checked his phone. He had a text message from Ned wanting him to come over soon. Pete smiled and texted "soon". Tony made his way over and sat next to Peter.

"Did you enjoy seeing the movie?"

Pete scoffed a little, "What I saw of it, yes. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"That's okay bud." They sat in silence for a moment. "You up for a walk?" Tony asked.

Peter gulped and nodded. They made their way outside to the garden.

"When we were at the movie, you woke up suddenly. Did you have a bad dream or something?"

Pete stared at the sky for a second, "Uh yeah but it's not a big deal."

"Well, I won't push for details, it's been awhile since you have had a nightmare, but let me know if you have another one."

"Will do." Peter said, giving a mock salute to Tony.

Tony rolled his eyes and gave Peter a quick reassuring hug and kiss on the side of his head.

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too, Dad." Peter smiled.

**Author's Note: Well, this chapter was amazing to write! It was about time Peter called Tony "dad". A lot of things went on in this chapter, but I think some major issues for Peter were resolved. And don't worry- his Spiderman hero days are soon to come! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The following morning, Tony woke up to find neither of his kids in their beds asleep. Terrifying thoughts went through his mind, as he began calling through the house to try to find his kids. Surely, they wouldn't have gone in the lab without permission. It was six a.m. and they weren't anywhere to be seen. Finally, after going through all the rooms on their two personal floors, he decided to ask FRIDAY.

"Sir, Peter and Morgan are both up on the roof."

Tony was shocked at this info, "T-the roof? What for?"

"I believe they were looking at the stars and wanted to watch the sun rise." FRIDAY said calmly.

Tony went up the stairs to the rooftop. He opened the door to see both kids talking quietly and taking in the remaining sunrise.

"Peter, Morgan, there you are."

Both kids turned to see Tony standing, his expression going from worry to possibly being mad.

Peter was quick to say something, "We just wanted to look at the stars and got kind of carried away. It was my idea. Please don't be mad at Morgan."

"Just next time tell me or have FRIDAY tell me. I thought something happened." Tony said trying his best not to fly into both of them.

Morgan came up to him, "Are we in twouble?"

Tony bent down to look at his little girl in the eye, "No, of course not. Why don't you go in now and I will make you some breakfast?"

Peter sat back down on the rooftop, quieter than usual. Tony came and sat down next to his son.

"Everything okay, Pete?"

"Have you ever wanted to go to space?" Peter asked, staring out into the city of New York.

"No, not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"I just want to see the stars up close." Peter said, his mind drifting.

"Did you sleep at all last night, Pete?" Tony asked with concern.

No answer.

Tony patiently called out Peter's name. He was met with silence once more.

"Peter!"

Peter snapped his head to look at Tony, "Yes, dad?"

"I asked if you got any sleep last night?"

Peter looked down at his hands, "No, maybe a couple of hours."

"Well, it looks like both of y'all crazy kids are taking naps today." Tony said as he reached out to help Peter up.

"No, I will be fine."

"Peter, if you want to be a hundred percent better, you need to sleep."

Peter just groaned over dramatically.

"Come on, drama queen, let's feed you and your starving sister."

Around two p.m., Morgan was sitting with Peter on the couch watching a movie. Tony and Pepper decided to try to talk about the kid's escapade up to the rooftop.

"Do you think it's just Peter's way of coping? Maybe he feels closer to his family." Pepper pointed out to Tony.

"We are his family, now. Peter hasn't accepted that yet." Tony argued back.

"Give it time, Tony. At least, he is better than he was when we first had him come."

Tony snapped his fingers with an idea, "Let's have Ned over. He hasn't hardly seen Ned at all or mentioned him."

Pepper agreed and both made their way over to where the kids where when they saw that both kids had fallen asleep. The kids slept for a couple of hours, but when Tony woke them up for dinner, they were grumpy and moody. Dinner was a fiasco, as Morgan decided to throw a fit over what was on her plate to eat.

"Morgan, you like lasagna." Tony said for the second time, frustrated.

"No, it's to spicy!"

"I made it the same way I always do." Pepper interjected.

"I don't wike it!" Morgan said, as she started to cry.

Fed up with Morgan, Tony gave her the choice to either eat or she could go to bed. When all he got was more crying and louder no's as an answer, he scooped her up and took her upstairs. Tony was honestly shocked at how long her temper tantrum went on. He couldn't seem to get her to do anything he asked her too. Finally, finally, after taking twice as long to get Morgan ready to bed, Tony was able to get her to lay down in bed, even though she refused to close her eyes and go to sleep. It wasn't surprising when she came downstairs a little while later,

"I am thirsty, daddy." Morgan said, as she made her way over to Tony, who was sitting on the couch with Peter and Pepper.

Tony got up and gave her a small glass of water.

"Finished?" He asked her, noticing that she was in a slightly better mood.

Morgan nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"Time to go back to bed then, kiddo." Tony said.

"I want to look at the stars again with Peter." Morgan stated, hoping he would say yes.

"No, you two crazy kids, need to get some sleep."

Of course, not being the answer, she was looking for, Morgan started to cry.

"Morgan, you can go out and look at the stars some other night, okay? But right now, I really would like it if you went to sleep." Tony said patiently. His patience was running thin.

"But dadddddyyyy!"

Alright time to get serious. "Morgan, it's time for bed. You have had a glass of water and you said goodnight to everyone. Go back upstairs."

"I want to stay with Peter." Morgan said, as she made her way and climbed up on Peter.

Tony shook his head, "Come on, Morgan." He gently picked her up and she started to scream and cry. What was with this kid tonight?

When he took her back upstairs, he tried to calm her down, but when she made a run for the stairs. He put her in the corner, which only elicited more tears. This poor kid was so tired, and Tony knew it. After her time was up and he got an apology out of her, he was finally able to get her to go to sleep.

Peter was grumpy too but not as much as Morgan. He made his way through dinner and had only argued a little bit about helping with the dishes. Other than that, he was making it through the evening. When Tony made his way back downstairs, he noticed that Peter was no longer on the couch, rather he was sitting at the kitchen island working on his laptop.

"What are you working on, Pete?"

"It's a project for history that I need to work on. My teacher emailed it to me since I have missed the last few days." Peter said as he was really focused on his screen.

"Pete, how would you like for Ned to come spend a few nights with you here?"

Peter could hardly contain his excitement, "Seriously? Yes, yes! Thank you, dad! I am going to text him right now." Peter grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

"Woah, slow down there, little spider." Tony said. "It's late, wait till the morning. Okay?"

"Fine." Peter said dejectedly and yawned.

"Go to bed, spider." Tony pointed to the stairs and ruffled Pete's hair.

"Goodnight, dad."

"Night, spider."

**Author's Note: Sorry for the shorter chapter. This week is extremely busy, being the week before Christmas! Crazy, right? Also, let me know if y'all like Tony's nickname "spider" for Peter. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The next few days had gone by with little to no problems. Things were looking up for Peter. Tony had allowed for Peter to invite Ned to come over and spend a few days, which Peter is anxiously looking forward to. Lord, help Tony- more teens in the house. Just what he always wanted. Peter was calling Tony, dad, and while Peter wasn't overly fond of his new nickname- spider, he didn't say anything. Life was good. In fact, as Peter told Dr. Zhago a couple of days ago- Life was better than it had been in a long time. He felt safe at the tower and with his new family. More smiles and less tears according to everyone around Peter, including Peter. School was- well – it could be better. If it hadn't been that Peter is currently sitting in the principal's office again, thanks to- you guessed it, Flash. Why is it that just as things seemed to be going good Flash had to ruin it? Peter's thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the office door. A moment later, Tony stepped in the room. Worry and anger written all over his face.

"Mr. Stark, thank you for coming so quickly." Principal Morita said, as he held out his hand.

Tony sat down in the chair next to Peter, whose face was quickly bruising, "May I ask what happened?"

The principal sighed. "It appears that I can't get a story out of either of these two. From the looks of it, I would say a fight broke out. If they refuse to tell me, I will have no choice but to give them both detentions and since both of them have been suspended once before, neither will be on the decathalon team for the remainder of the semester."

"I am not on the decathalon team anymore." Peter stated immediately.

Tony looked at Peter surprised but didn't say anything. They would have to have that conversation later. Right now, it seemed more important to get the facts.

"Would it be alright if I talked to my son in the room next door?" Tony asked, pulling his son to stand next to him.

"Yes, of course." Principal Morita said.

Tony and Peter made their way into the next room. Peter stood in the middle of the room, waiting to be yelled at. He knew it was coming, he just knew it. However, the yelling never came. Instead, he felt himself being pushed into a chair.

"Gees, Pete. You look like you're about to pass out." Tony said as he gently pushed Peter down into a chair.

Peter didn't say anything, not sure what to say.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Tony asked kindly but desperate to know.

"It was my fault, dad." Peter took a deep breath in.

"Go on."

"Well, F-flash made some really awful comments to the other kids at the lunch table about me. H-he said I was just your next charity case and that he figured I wouldn't last long. I would be thrown out or something. Ned tried to stand up for me and told him to shut up, but Flash came over and started making fun of him. Dad, I couldn't just stand there and watch my friend being berated by a bully, so I-I hit Flash first-really hard." Peter said, not wanting to look up at Tony's face.

Tony took in a deep breath and whispered, "Pete."

"Dad, I am sorry. I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have hit him. I won't do it again, honest." Peter started sobbing as he kept apologizing and making promises.

"Peter. Peter." Tony said, trying to get this now crying teen's attention.

"Spider, I understand why you hit him. We really need to work on your control of emotions when it comes to fighting. How bad is Flash hurt?"

"I broke his jaw, right shoulder, collar bone, and his nose." Peter said, wiping away at the remaining tears.

Tony rubbed his hands over his face, clearly frustrated. "Alright. Come on, spider. Let's go face the music and get out of here."

After telling what had happened, Peter walked away with a week out-of-school suspension and Flash did too, for that matter. Tony took Peter home and sent him to his room, with an ice pack on his face. During family dinner, Tony informed Peter that they would start "training", while he was suspended. Pepper nearly fell over when she was told what happened. After an hour of being lectured by an unhappy Pepper, Peter and Morgan were allowed to look at the stars for a couple of hours.

"Should I get them a telescope?" Tony asked as he helped with dishes.

"You want to reward your son with a telescope?" Pepper asked in disbelief.

"No, I want him to be able to look at the stars as much as he wants with Morgan but in a safer way."

"Fine, but since he has been suspended don't get him one yet." Pepper said.

"Oh, when I said training, I meant he gets to do a lot of unfun stuff this week for causing trouble. He gets to wash all the cars tomorrow."

Pepper laughed. "You really think he will wash all 20 of your cars?"

"Yes, because I really want to get him a telescope after he does this list that I have in my head."

"I have to wash all the cars by myself?" Peter asked as he was eating breakfast at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning.

"Yes, my suspended spider."

Peter groaned.

"After you wash my cars then I will get you started on the next task and then once that's done you will be free for the rest of the evening. Of course, you will have to be in bed by 9 and your phone in my hand."

Peter groaned louder this time. He was suspended, having to do all of these ridiculous jobs, early bedtime, and he had his phone taken at night? Really!

So, as one can imagine, Peter spent the rest of the day washing all the cars. He was nearly exhausted when he finished the last car. What amazed Tony was the kid's work ethic. He never complained once as far as Tony knew. Dang, May raised a good kid. Tony really hated being so hard on Peter for getting suspended, but he needed Peter to understand the consequences of what could have happened if Flash had been more injured. Seeing that Peter was utterly exhausted, Tony held off on the second job of cleaning windows in the tower. Instead, he let Peter eat, shower, and watch a movie. When 9 o'clock came around, Tony didn't even have to send the kid to bed because he was already sound asleep against Tony's shoulder.  
"Come on, spider. Time to sleep in your own bed." Tony whispered as he picked the kid up and put him in his own room.

The so-called long list of chores lasted until Monday. Monday morning came and Peter woke up on his own accord. He realized he hadn't been woken up by a blaring alarm. Instead, he had slept in and was being awoken by the smell of bacon in the house.

"Dad." Peter stated as he slid onto his stool at the kitchen island.

"Yes, spider?"

"If I cleaned the whole kitchen for you, could I go see Ned when school gets out? Pleeeaasssee!"

Tony chuckled, "Yes of course you can, just make sure he has time."

Peter bounced up and gave Tony a quick side hug, "Thanks, dad."

"Wait!" Tony called out.

Peter turned wondering why he was being stopped.

"School doesn't let out until 3:15. How does going out for lunch with Rhodey sound?"

Peter's face lit up at that. Lunch out with Rhodey always seemed to turn comical. At least, that's what they all expected when they went to lunch. However, things don't always go as planned. Why is that? At least that's what Peter thought right before everything went black.

**Author's Note: Sorry this so late! I have been out of town today celebrating my parent's anniversary. I left y'all with a cliffhanger and you will have to wait until the week after Christmas to find out what happens! I won't be posting next week in order for everyone to spend time with their families. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Sound or at least some sort of noises were being heard. Beeping. Then there was noise, which was muffled, sounded distorted. Maybe someone was talking to Peter? He couldn't make anything out. He couldn't move and couldn't seem to make any noise. Next, he felt intense pain shoot through his body and then everything went silent again. When he woke up again, sounds were clearer. He could feel someone or something holding onto his hand, but he still couldn't seem to move.

"Peter, you need to wake up now. We miss you. Morgan misses you like crazy and visits you every day. " A voice said- Tony's voice.

_Wake up? _Peter thought.

The next thing Peter knew he seemed to be able to move again.

"Peter." A voice said. Peter attempted to make a noise or move, but it seemed his brain wasn't connected with the rest of his body.

"Open your eyes, Peter, or squeeze my hand." Tony said again.

Peter managed to open his eyes and blinked rapidly trying to clear up the fuzzy images. When things cleared up, he could see Tony, Bruce, and Pepper all looking at him with concern.

"Peter, its Bruce." Dr. Banner said as he began checking Peter's vitals. "Do you know who we are?"

Peter nodded. "Water." He asked in a raspy voice.

Tony came over with some water and Peter drank as quickly as he could.

"Slow down, buddy. I don't want you to throw it all back up." Tony gently said.

"What happened?" Peter said, trying to figure out why he was in bed.

Bruce and Tony looked over at one another and Bruce started, "Pete, do you remember when y'all were going to lunch?"

Peter nodded his head.

"You seemed to have passed out and you woke up several times. When you woke up, you would scream in pain and then you would throw-up."

"I don't remember any of that." Peter said still confused.

"No and I did not expect that you would."

Tony was holding Pete's hand tightly.

"D-dad, how long was I asleep for? Like what time is it?"

Tony took a long sigh and Bruce and Pepper left the room.

"Well, kiddo, you went into a coma. Bruce is still trying to figure out why."

"A. A coma?"

"Yes."

"For how long?" Peter's voice broke.

" Two months."

Suddenly, Peter couldn't breath and he started panicking. Tony tried to calm him down but that failed. Peter started crying and yelling but Tony couldn't tell what he was saying. When Peter stopped, he tried his hardest to get out of bed. He had this overwhelming urge to run.

"No, Peter. You can't get up right now." Tony firmly said.

Peter just cried in response. After what felt like hours, Peter fell asleep. Tony left the room quietly to talk to Bruce. To his surprise, an alarm went off. He turned around to see that Peter had managed to leave the room. Tony was able to catch Peter a few steps past his door because Peter was still really weak.

"Let me go! Let me go, please. I need to get out of here." Peter yelled.

"We can go home but not yet. Calm down, Peter."

Peter just collapsed to the ground too weak to fight anymore.

"Woah, woah, Pete." Tony said as he gently helped Peter to the ground, without just falling dead weight.

**-two weeks later-**

Peter was being wheelchaired to the car to go home, finally. It seemed like forever and he was about to go crazy. After he had tried to escape the first time, Tony put restraints around Peter until he agreed to not get up without supervision. Peter hated that but the restraints were just so he couldn't hurt himself.

When they got to the tower, Morgan ran over to Peter and jumped up in his lap.

"Peter! I missed you!"

Peter hugged Morgan, "I missed you too!"

Tony led Peter to the couch and just stared at him for a few seconds.

"Dad, I am fine. Can we order pizza or something? I am starving."

"Sure thing, buddy." Tony said as he ruffled Peter's hair.

After Peter had eaten and taken a nap at Tony's insistence, Tony wheeled Peter outside for a surprise.

"Close your eyes, Pete."

Peter looked at Tony confused, "What for?"

"It's a surprise, Peter." Tony said with a smile on his face.

Tony wheeled Peter out to the roof with Morgan following behind giggling.

"Did Mo's giggle box turn over or something, Dad?" Peter asked opening his eyes for a moment.

"Close those eyes right now!" Tony yelled ignoring the question.

"Okay, okay!" Peter said as he closed his eyes.

Finally, they made it to the roof. Tony wheeled Peter over to the surprise. In fact, Tony had gotten this surprise a few weeks ago but Peter was not well enough to see it. Tony was sad when he found out Morgan hadn't even used the surprise yet, but Tony smiled when she told him she was waiting for Peter to get better.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Peter whined.

"Open!"

Peter saw this gorgeous and expensive telescope sitting on the roof.

"You- you got us a telescope?!"

"Yeah of course I did!" Tony smiled.

"B-but aren't they like really expensive?"

"So." Tony shrugged his shoulders.

Peter gaped at it, thrilled beyond imagination. For the rest of the day except when Peter had to take medication, he and Morgan sat out waiting for the stars. Both Tony and Pepper let them look out to their heart's content. Two more days passed, and Peter was still in his wheelchair. Tony and Pepper had noticed Pete's mood change around them. He was miserable being stuck in the wheelchair. They both had tried to reassure him it would only be a few more days but that seemed to make him sadder.

Loud giggles and shrills went through the house as Morgan was wheeling Peter around as fast as she could. Peter was making race car noises and other noises to entertain Morgan as she pushed. When she got tired, she sat on his lap and he pushed the wheels with his arms. Tony came up from the lab to get another cup of coffee, Pepper put a hand on his chest,

"Look. Peter is so happy when Morgan is around."

"She is good for him."

"I just don't want them to get hurt." Pepper said concerned.

"If you stop them, we will have two very grumpy kids. Let them have fun, Pep. It's good for Peter. Besides, Morgan is happier now that he is home. Remember, she used to cry and sleep with us because he wasn't here. She wasn't even happy about the telescope until he got home." Tony said, trying to assure Pepper.

"I know. I just don't need either of them getting hurt."

"They are fine." Tony said giving a kiss on her cheek.

"Dinner is in an hour. I need you up here to help with the kids during dinner."

"Aye, aye." Tony said doing a mock salute.

Things would be better right? Tony still wanted to know what happened with Peter. Answers had not been given. Tony needed answers! He knew Peter was going to bust if he didn't get out of that wheelchair. Why was his healing abilities not working faster? Tony had a feeling Peter already has an answer to that. Peter hadn't even asked to go patrolling as Spiderman. Everything was not okay, but Tony hoped that soon they would be.

**Author's Note: I am sorry if this chapter seems lame. I am having writer's block and to be honest I have spent way too much time this weekend watching Dr. Who. I will be working on more chapters and maybe a new story or one-shot. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 **

**Author's Note: Sorry this is a shorter chapter. I may take a small break from this story and think of where I want to go with it. In the meantime, I will work on my other one that I started as it is more light hearted. **

The following few days had been absolute torture for everyone in the Stark household. If Peter's mood and attitude weren't bad enough because he was in a wheelchair, it started rubbing off onto little Morgan. Tony and Pepper felt like banging their heads against the wall with how frustrated they were. Peter kept himself locked in his room because he was sick of his overprotective parents.

The house was quiet for once because Pepper took Morgan with her to go do somethings. Peter never left his room that day, except when it was time for dinner. Tony took the elevator to go get Peter for dinner.

"Peter, it is time to eat." Tony stated.

"Not hungry."

"Well, you need to try okay. Your healing abilities need help, Pete." Tony swore they have had this conversation more than once.

Peter just rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Tony.

"Peter. Peter." Tony turned Peter around in his wheelchair to face him. "Peter, listen to me. Look at me. I want to help you. I don't know why you're healing abilities haven't kicked in. I know you really want out of the wheelchair. I can't help you unless you talk to me."

Peter looked down at the ground. He knew why his healing abilities weren't working. It was like ever since May had passed, he just shut them off.

"Peter, talk to me."

"P-please leave me alone." Peter said as his voice broke. A tear dripped down his cheek and he was really hoping Tony wouldn't notice.

Tony sighed and sat down across from Peter on his bed. "Pete." He gently lifted Peter's chin so he could see his face. "Oh, kid. Tell me what's going on. Let me help you."

"Y-you can't!" Peter cried out, now crying like he was some little kid.

"I can try." Tony gently said.

"Not unless you can bring May back from the dead!" Peter yelled, totally frustrated and embarrassed.

Tony let out a long sigh. "No, I can't but I am here for you whenever you need or want me. Pete, would you like to go see Ned?"

Peter shook his head, "No."

Tony seemed shock at Peter's answer. "Okay. What do you want, Pete?"

Peter held his arms out like a little kid wanting to be picked up. Tony came over to him. "What do you need, Peter?"

"You." Peter said, crying again.

Tony gently picked Peter up and put him on the bed. He laid down next to Peter as he cried and cried. The kid really needed this, right now.

"Peter, is this why your healing abilities aren't working?" Tony whispered.

Peter nodded his head in response. Tony finally understood the reason behind it, it was May and Peter hadn't gotten truly over it yet. Tony really hoped that the drama would go away and Peter's healing abilities would come back.

The next day, Bruce came by to check on Peter. He didn't see Peter in the living room. Tony was in the kitchen coloring with Morgan.

"Hey, Tony. Hey, Mo."

"Brucie!" Morgan said as she hugged Bruce.

"Peter here?"

Tony sighed, " He is in his room. He may be asleep. We had a rough night."

"I just wanted to check on him." Bruce said. To their surprise, the elevator door opened, and Peter came walking out.

"Peter! What are you doing out of your wheelchair?" Bruce said in panic.

"I don't need it." Peter said, he seemed excited.

"Peter, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"No seriously. Check me over." Peter sat down on the bar stool.

After a few minutes, Bruce confirmed Peter was okay and didn't need the wheelchair.

"I don't understand." Bruce said.

"You don't have to, Bruce." Peter said as he smiled at Tony.

It seemed the kid had his healing abilities back. I guess a few tears and a conversation did the trick.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

Peter seemed happier and brighter now that he was out of the wheelchair and his healing abilities kicked back into motion. Tony was pleased to see that the kid would come home smiling whether it was from school or coming home from Ned's. In fact, Peter asked again if he could have Ned stay a couple of nights at the tower. To Peter's surprise, Tony said yes! One day while Tony and Peter were in the lab, Peter decided to ask a question.

"Hey, Dad. Um, could I ask a question?" Peter asked nervously while finishing up a project.

"Shoot." Tony said as he was screwing something in with his screwdriver.

"W-would it be okay if I went back out as Spider-Man?"

Tony nearly fell over in surprise. He stopped what he was doing and put it on the table. He walked over to Peter. "Did you just ask me if you could be Spider-Man again?"

Peter nodded, biting his lip nervously. "Yeah, I think I am ready. The world needs me."

"Yes, but I also need you."

"Please, dad. I promise to be really, really careful!" Peter begged.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Fine, you can go."

Peter's face lit up and jumped up to hug Tony, "Thank you! Thank you! I am going to go tell Ned."

"Hey, you tell that guy in the chair, he better keep careful tabs on you, or he won't get that car!" Tony yelled as Peter made his way back up the stairs.

"Whatever!" Peter yelled back, which just made Tony laugh in response.

At dinner that evening, Peter announced he would be going out as Spiderman tomorrow.

"Can I go?" Morgan begged.

"No, not yet squirt." Peter said, "Maybe when you are a little older, I can take you for a swing."

"Yay!" Morgan yelled.

Tony and Pepper both giggled at Morgan's excitement. Unfortunately, Peter going out as his other self, meant they needed to lay some ground rules. The kid would stay out until early morning if they let him.

"Pete, I don't mind you going out as Spider-Man. However, we need to talk about some ground rules." Tony said in a rather serious tone.

Peter just groaned in response.

"There is a curfew especially because you are still in school. One a.m. on weekdays and two on weekends."

"But!" Peter attempted to argue.

"Argue and I will push the curfew back an hour." Tony stated.

"One and two are fine." Peter grumbled.

"Also, school comes first before your other self. I see those grades fall and the city will see no spider-ling swinging across. Got it?"

"Okay. Anything else?" Peter asked which almost sounded like a whine.

"Yes, actually. Have fun, spider. The rules are only to protect you. Small neighborhood crimes, spider. I hear about a certain spider in something big, we will have a conversation you won't enjoy."

"Small crimes only. When can I do big crimes?" Peter asked.

"Maybe and only maybe if I go with you. However, if I tell you to stay in place, you better do it." Tony pointed at Peter.

Morgan was getting fidgety at her place because she was done ages ago. "Can we watch a movie, daddy?"

Tony smirked, "Absolutely but only after you take your plate to the sink."

"Aww, it's too far." Morgan attempted to get out of having to do it.

"Well then I guess it's 'too far' to go watch a movie." Tony said with his eyebrows raised.

Peter joined in, leaning closer to Morgan, "See if you had spider skills you could just use your webs. But since you don't like everyone else in the world, you should do it the human way."

Morgan stuck her tongue out at Peter. Tony figured he could bribe her with something.

"Mo, if you take your plate to the sink, I will let you go with Peter to the toy store and you could get that barbie car that you have talking about forever." Tony said.

"It's not a barbie car, it's a house."

"Car, house, plate to sink." Tony said as he pointed from her plate to the sink.

She finally gave in and took her plate. When they were all finally settled on the couch and Tony in his chair, Morgan made her way over.

"What you thinking?" Morgan knew her dad was distracted about something.

"I am fine, looney-tune."

"Can I have a juice pop?"

"Sure. What flavor do you want?"

"Um, blue raspberry!"

The movie had ended about 30 minutes earlier. Tony had Morgan in his lap who was fast asleep, and Peter had fallen asleep on the couch next to Pepper.

"Do you think Peter is ready to go back out?" Pepper whispered.

Tony was just getting up with sleeping Morgan in his arms, "He will be fine as long as he follows the rules."

"I just hope he is ready emotionally. He hasn't asked about seeing the therapist or going to the cemetery." Pepper responded in motherly worry.

"He is fine, Pep. He knows he can talk to us besides he is a whole lot better now than he was last week." Tony said before exiting the room with Morgan.

Pepper stayed on the couch and gently caressed Peter's curly hair. She gave him a light kiss on the side of his head. "Peter, you need to wake up."

He didn't stir so she just continued caressing his hair until Tony came back.

"He hasn't moved." Pepper whispered.

Tony went over and gently picked Peter up. "Come on spider, time to catch some z's in your web." Tony made his way to Peter's bed and laid him down gently. Peter rolled over and made a small whimper. "Shh, Pete. It's okay. I am right here." Tony took the kid's shoes off and laid down next to him until the kid was sound asleep again.

Peter opened bleary eyes when he noticed that Tony was still laying down next to him. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with thankfulness that Tony had taken him in. He was just his intern. Peter went downstairs to get something to eat when he noticed Pepper in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Peter. Would you like for me to make you something to eat?" Pepper asked.

Peter sat down at the kitchen island "Yes please. Can I ask you something?"

Pepper turned to meet Peter's eyes, "Of course, Pete. You don't have to ask if you can ask me something."

Peter smiled but blushed momentarily. "Could y-you or Tony take me shopping?"

"What for?"

"Um, I have outgrown almost everything that Tony brought back from my apartment."

Pepper chuckled, "You getting too big too fast! Of course, you know Morgan will probably want to go to."

"Thank you."

**Author's Note: Thank you everyone for being patient while I work on this story! Spider-Man action to come! I have realized posting three times a week for the same story is not easy for me. Therefore, I will probably go back to every Monday. I will let you know for sure. I see this story taking a turn for the better but be prepared for bumps in the road, just like life. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 **

The next day upon Peter's request, Tony and Pepper took the kids out to shop. When they went into the mall, Morgan insisted that they go to the toy store first thing. She was so excited knowing that she could probably get whatever she wanted since her parents are billionaires.

"Look, Peter!" Morgan yelled as she pointed to one of the bigger barbie houses.

Tony went over pretending to be interested, "Is that the one you want, kiddo?"

Morgan nodded as she bounced around to the next isle. Tony chuckled as he put the barbie house into the cart. Peter had managed to sneak off somewhere. No surprise, he was in the LEGO section, which is where Tony figured he was. When Tony found Peter, he was staring at one of the more expensive and bigger sets of LEGO.

"What did you find, Pete?"

"Oh, I was just looking at the Star Wars Super Star Destroyer 10221 LEGO set." Peter said still staring at it in all it's glory.

"Let's get it then." Tony said.

Peter's mouth fell open, "But dad its… its over $1,000."

"So." Tony said as he put in the cart.

"No, I don't need it that bad." Peter stuttered.

"You know you want it. Let me buy it for you, Pete." Tony said. "Do you see Morgan over there picking stuff out?"

Peter nodding noting that she already had a basket full.

"She is family just like you. I want her to be happy and not afraid to spend money. I want you to feel the same, kiddo. You're my kid now." Tony assured Peter.

Peter smiled and pulled out his phone, "I am going to tell Ned."

Lots of money later, they left the toy store and headed to the teens and kids clothing store.

"Okay, Pete. Remember get whatever you would like. If you don't find anything here, we can try somewhere else."

Peter went around looking in several stores buying clothes at every one. Morgan was getting tired of walking. Granted, she was only five. She used all her energy up in the toy store. So, after Pepper's arms got tired of holding Morgan. Tony held Morgan and she fell asleep almost immediately. Pepper tried to help Peter look and find the right size.

They finished getting clothes among extra things that they probably didn't really need. As long as the kids were happy, Tony and Pepper were fine with that. Tony put sleeping Morgan into her car seat and went to take them all out to eat.

"I don't want that." Morgan whined.  
"Mo, you like Italian food." Tony said as he was trying to help her figure out what to eat. She clearly was tired and in need of a nap.

Frustrated and after hearing Morgan say no to everything on the list, Tony just chose for her. Of course, tears and whining ensued because Morgan didn't want it. Peter could see that everyone at the table was frustrated with Morgan.

"Hey Mo-mo, if you eat what Daddy ordered for you, I will let you get one of those toys of the machines or the candy." Peter offered.

"Really?" Morgan asked her eyes lighting up.

"Yeah but you have to stop whining and eat your food. Okay?"

"Okay."

Dinner ended up great and it turns out Morgan really enjoyed the spaghetti. She even said it was what she wanted.

The following day was school, and Peter went even though he slightly dreaded having to face Flash. Peter's day went smoothly until well Flash.

"Hey nerd, are you still living with that murder?" Flash asked.

"What?" Peter asked.

"That murderer, Stark."

"He is not a murderer!"

"Oh right, so you still a charity case? He will probably kick you out once he's through with you."

"Flash stop!" Peter yelled. "In case you didn't know, he adopted me. He is not a murderer!"

"Whatever, just saying, he probably only took you in and claimed he adopted you because he wants attention."

Okay, those words hurt more than Peter expected. Flash kept nagging him and making horrible comments. Peter was having none of it and Ned could tell that Peter was about to do something about it.

"Peter. Peter, calm down. He is not worth you getting into trouble. Let it go." Ned said, feeling Peter's muscles tighten.

Peter couldn't take it anymore and before anyone knew it, he had a tight grip on Flash's neck. A teacher walked down the hall just in time, pulling Peter off of Flash. Now here Peter was sitting in the principal's office waiting for one of his guardians to arrive. He knew they weren't happy at all. Pepper came because Tony had a really important meeting that he couldn't get out of. After hearing what had happened and that Peter had refused to talk, she was able to take him with three days of out-of- school suspension.

"Peter." Pepper said as they walked into the living room.

Peter sat on the couch sullen and angry, not saying a word.

"Hey, Peter. Honey, go to your room until Tony can come talk to you." Pepper calmly said.

Peter nodded and made his way to his room. He laid on the bed and just cried. The things Flash had said really hurt him and he was actually glad he stood up for himself and Tony. Now he only hoped that Tony wouldn't be too angry.

When Tony got back, Pepper had already informed him of what had happened. He was angry but Flash probably deserved it. Peter wouldn't just attack him without a good reason.

"Tony, remember he is just a kid." Pepper said. "Don't be too hard on him."

"I won't, Pep. Did he say anything to you?"

"No, he wouldn't say a word. I just sent him to his room. I didn't want him to get angry if Morgan tried to bug him."

Tony nodded. "Okay. I am going to go talk to him."

He made his way to Peter's room. When he knocked on the door, there was no answer. So, Tony opened it and noticed that Peter had fallen asleep. Upon closer inspection, there were dried tear tracks on Peter's face. Tony decided that he should probably wake him up and just get it over with.

"Peter, wake up." Tony said as he gently shook the boy's shoulders.

Peter just groaned and mumbled a "go away."

"Nope, come one Peter, sit up." Tony said a little more sternly.

Peter did as he was told and just stared at the blanket. Tony just stared at Peter for a moment hoping that maybe Peter would talk first.

"Pete, do you want to tell me why you assaulted Flash, or should we skip that part and go straight to the lecture?"

Peter didn't say anything and continued to stare at the blanket.

"Okay. Pete, unless you tell me a reason other than just starting a fight, you're grounded until further notice. It also means no Spider-Man. I know you wanted to go out soon, but not until I say otherwise. Also, no lab time." Tony continued, "Fighting is not okay, and I won't put up with it. If you want to actually talk to me about it, we can do that. I don't believe you would just start a fight without a good reason. However, if you don't talk to me, I am just going to think you started a fight."

A single tear dripped down Peter's cheek, he turned over and laid back down. Peter covered his face with his hands, clearly through with hearing what Tony had to say.

"Dinner is at 6. I expect you to be down for dinner. Okay?"

Peter didn't respond. Tony leaned over and gave Peter a kiss on the side of his head.

Dinner was ready and no Peter. Tony had asked FRIDAY if he was still in his room. He was. Tony figured he wasn't brave enough to sneak out again.

"Should I go get Peter?" Pepper asked.

"No. He knows he has to be down here. If he isn't down here in another 2 minutes, I will go get him even if he is kicking and screaming." Tony said hoping it wouldn't come to it.

Peter walked in just as Tony was getting ready to go get him.

"Well, look at what the cat dragged in." Tony teased.

Peter didn't say anything or even look up. The silent treatment was new. When Tony saw that Peter was refusing to eat the food on his plate, he made a decision.

"Pete, this is a family dinner. However, if you refuse to at least be pleasant or eat your food, then you can go back to your room. You can do your homework and go to bed."

Peter went back to his room not having eaten and not saying a word. This was clearly just a case of teenage attitude and pride.

The next day, Bruce came by to talk about some things with Tony in the lab. Pepper was cleaning up the kitchen from lunch which Peter had refused to come down. To her surprise, she saw Peter walk into the kitchen sheepishly.

"Hey, Pete. Would you like something to eat?" Pepper asked kindly.

Peter nodded and at about 4 plates full of food.

"Where's dad?" Peter finally asked.

Pepper couldn't help but smile, "He is down in the lab with Bruce. You can go down if you would like to talk to him. Just tell Tony that I let you, so he doesn't get mad. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am. Thank you." Peter said.

He made his way down to the lab and punched in the entrance code. Immediately, Tony noticed Peter entering his lab.

"Peter, you aren't allowed down here. Remember? Go back upstairs." Tony pointed to the stairs.

Peter stuttered, "Um, Pepper allowed me cause I wanted to talk to you."

Tony sighed feeling relieved that Peter wanted to finally talk. Tony looked over to Bruce, "Hey Bruce, Pete and I need to go talk about something. Can I meet you down here in a little bit?"

Bruce nodded. Tony and Peter made their way to Tony's office. Peter sat down at the couch as Tony sat next to him.

"I am sorry." Peter said.

"I know, bud. Do you want to tell me what happened at school?"

So, Peter did. Needless to say, the conversation ended with tears. Tony reassured Peter and just held him, telling him to let out all the bottled-up emotion. When Peter managed to stop crying and was just sniffling, he laid his head on Tony's shoulders.

"So, I've talked, am I still grounded?" Peter asked.

"Not at all. Want to go play in the lab with Bruce?"

Peter's face lit up, "Yes!", as he made his way to the office door. Forgetting the door was closed, he ran into it.

"Oww!" Peter exclaimed although the pain was already going away.

Tony laughed, "Watch where you're going, spider!"

**Author's Note: **

**Couple of things: The whole restaurant scene with Morgan, I think we can all relate. I know I did that a couple of times when I was younger. Also, the LEGO set that Tony got for Peter, I totally looked it up on Amazon just to get an idea. **

**For now, Monday will be the day I post a chapter. However, I am starting my final semester of college, so it may change, or I may have to stop until I graduate. We will see. I just want to give y'all a heads up. **

**I hope you are not getting bored of this story and I hope I can come up with some really good content for the next few chapters. Any ideas or prompts are always appreciated! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Dad! Dad!" Peter yelled running down the stairs and into the kitchen where his Dad was. Tony looked up in surprise to see Peter seem so excited.

"What's gotten into you, Spider?" Tony asked putting his coffee mug down on the island.

"I want to go out tonight as Spiderman, since I didn't get to the last time. Please, please can I go?"

"Have a seat, Pete." Tony said patting the stool next to him.

Peter did, bouncing with energy. Tony put his hands on Peter's shoulders, trying to get him to calm down.

"Peter, I love that you want to get out again and I am totally okay with you wanting to go out."

Peter could barely contain his excitement, "Thanks, Dad." He got up off the stool when he felt his dad's hand holding him back.

"Wait a second."

Peter rolled his eyes annoyed and said, "Oh come on. You said I could go."

"I just wanted to tell you to remember the rules we discussed a while back. Also, remember to keep control of your emotions while you are out. Don't let the anger get the best of you."

"Okay, okay." Peter said, desperate to go.

"Peter, I am serious." Tony said sternly.

Peter could see the seriousness in his dad's eyes and hear it in his voice. "I understand, Dad. Honest. I will be a perfect super-hero."

Tony couldn't help but smile at his son's innocence and smile. He rolled his eyes and chuckled fondly, "Go on, Spider-Man. Do your homework first."

"Already did." Peter said as he went back to go upstairs.

God, Tony hoped Peter would behave himself and that he would actually do what he promised. He would find out sooner or later.

**Author's Note: Hey readers! I am SO sorry that I have not posted in almost a month. School started off with a bang and I changed jobs. Blah, blah. I could give all sorts of excuses. Anyway, I am back now. I realize this a rather short chapter, but I figured I wanted to at least get something out. Hope y'all enjoy! Also, who is excited for the Black Widow movie? **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Author's Note: This is the first time; I have ever written anything like this. Spider-Man action… I am not good with things like this so please forgive me ahead of time. **

Peter sat perched on top of the Avengers tower, ready to get back out in the crime-fighting world. He had promised Tony to be back by curfew and all of these other things. Half of them he couldn't remember because he was too excited to get out. He pulled his mask down over his face when KAREN came on.

"Hello, Peter."

"Hey, KAREN. What's first on tonight's list of crime?" Peter asked as he began swinging towards the outer part of the city.

"Nothing yet. Mr. Stark has asked me to remind you that curfew is one a.m. If you are not back at exactly one a.m., he will send an empty suit to come and fetch you." KAREN reminded Peter.

"I know, I know, Kar."

Suddenly his mask beeped with a robbery taking place in a small convenient store. Peter went inside, climbing the ceiling to quietly inspect what was going on. When he noticed the cashier at the front, he put his finger to his mouth and said, "shh". He snuck up on the robber who had a black cap on, Spider-Man quickly pulled off the cap.

"Knock, knock, mr. criminal. Hey, my name is Spider-Man. You know stealing is bad, right?"

The criminal fired off a shot but thankfully missed. Spider-Man webbed the gun and the criminal to the outside of the fridge door.

"Bye, mr. criminal!" Spider-Man called out as the robber was trying to yell at him.

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Peter stopped a few more robberies, helped an old lady not get hit by a speeding car, and even got a kitten out of the tree. Time flew by and before he knew it, it was 12:50.

"Crap." Peter whispered. He was 15 minutes from home and began swinging as fast as he could to get to the tower in time. Needless to say, he was three minutes passed curfew. He seriously hoped Tony wouldn't kill him for being three minutes late.

He was wrong. Tony made him change out of his suit, as soon as Peter was inside his room. Peter did what he was told as quickly as possible.

"Sit." Tony pointed to the bed, which Peter did immediately.

"I am only going to say this once. A one a.m. curfew is not 1:03 curfew. Got it?"

Peter nodded his head rapidly, hoping that would be it. "Yes, Dad. It won't happen again. I will be the most on time hero you have ever seen."

"Let's hope so. Go to bed." Tony said as walked toward the door. Before he closed it, Tony whispered to Peter, "Love you, kid."

"Love you, too." Came the sleepy reply from Peter, who was already falling asleep.

The next day was fairly uneventful. The kids went to school, came home, did homework, watched a movie. The day seemed to never end. Tony asked Peter after dinner if he wanted to go out as Spider-Man that evening. To his surprise, Peter said no. The teen seemed kind of down, but Tony figured he was just missing May.

That night, as Tony was walking around the house turning out lights, he checked on Morgan who was sound asleep. Next, he went to go check on Peter, figuring he was asleep as well. It was almost 2 a.m. and Tony was quite surprised to see Peter sitting on his bed facing the opposite wall of his bed.

"Peter." Tony whispered, not wanting to startle him. There was no response and after the second time Tony called his name and no response, Tony walked over. Peter was staring blankly at the wall. It was like he wasn't even there.

"You okay, kid?" Tony asked as he sat down next to Peter.

A single tear dripped from Peter's eye. Tony sighed sympathetically, as he felt bad for the boy.

"Peter. What's wrong?"

"I am fine." came the response out of the teen. Tony knew he wasn't fine, but he didn't want to scold him or accuse him of lying.

"I am here if you want to talk." Tony said, as he took his thumb and wiped the tear off Peter's cheek.

"Do you think it would be okay if I took off school tomorrow?" Peter asked.

Tony didn't expect that question, "Well it depends, why do you want to take off school?"

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Peter said, as he moved to lay down and face the other way. Tony caught his arm before he could get to far.

"Ah, ah. Tell my why, Pete." Tony said.

Peter took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. "I want to spend some time with Morgan. I always wanted a little sister or brother and well, you know."

Tony realized Peter was talking about his parent's death.

"They always wanted a second kid. There was even talk of it for awhile and I was really excited. I told all of my friends that I was going to have a sibling." Peter continued. "I guess to put it simply, I feel terrible that I haven't been a better big brother."

Tony couldn't help but smile that Peter really wanted to hang out with Morgan. "Well, Pete, Pep won't like it much if both of you are out of school. However, I think I can convince her it's for a good cause."

Peter smiled, "Really?"

Tony scoffed, "Yeah of course." Tony pulled his wallet out and handed Peter his credit card. "Here, y'all use this and do what you would like."

Peter's mouth fell open at the idea of having freedom to use his dad's credit card. "Wait, seriously?"

Tony ruffled the kid's hair, "Go. Have fun. Be safe, tomorrow." He then held up his finger, "Now, it's time for you to get some sleep, Spider."

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I had some extra time to write out another chapter. Work was insane but I have been wanting to write this all day. Up next is some much-needed sibling time between Morgan and Peter. It will be a spirit lifter for Peter. He needs it and you will find out why in the following couple of chapters! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The following morning, Tony made breakfast. Pepper wasn't too happy about the kids missing classes, but when she heard why, she seemed to be okay with it. By the time the pancakes were done, Peter walked into the kitchen, holding a sleepy Morgan.

"Mo, you got to wake up. Daddy made pancakes." Peter stated quietly.

Morgan moaned and attempted burrow deeper into Peter's neck.

"Come on, Mo. I am gonna eat all of your pancakes." Peter teased.

She squealed because she knew all to well that her brother could eat a lot. "No! My pancakes!"

Tony watched as Morgan drenched her pancakes in syrup. Disaster almost happened when her long hair almost got into the syrup. "Woah! Watch the hair, kiddo."

Mo looked up at him with a mouth full of pancakes and giggled. "Sorry."

"So, Morgan, Peter wants to spend the day with you."

Morgan's face lit up, "Really?"

"Yeah of course!" Peter said.

Tony looked over at the kids with a look of seriousness, "Mo, you have to stay with Peter at all times and no fussing. I want both of you to stay safe. Do you understand, Morgan?"

Morgan nodded and when she swallowed the rest of her pancake she said, "Yes sir."

As Happy drove into the main part of New York, Peter gave Morgan some ideas of what they could do. She chose the aquarium as their first stop. After an hour and a half and a stop at the gift store, the kids went to the movie theater. Morgan wanted to see Onward as it had just been released. The movie was great, but Peter had a hard time watching it because of the topic. He had to be careful that neither Morgan nor Happy saw him sad. After the movie, Happy insisted that they eat lunch, so he took them to Olive Garden, since both kids loved Italian food. Peter wanted to go somewhere else with Morgan but saw that she was sound asleep in the booth at the restaurant. On the way home, Peter fell asleep as well. Happy realized it when he noticed how quiet the car was. He looked in the rear view and saw both of them asleep. When he pulled up to the tower, he had FRIDAY get Tony to come help with the kids. Tony found himself unbuckling Peter's seatbelt. He couldn't help but notice that Peter had a dried tear track on his face. He sighed, knowing the kid was having a hard time. Tony desperately wanted the teen to live as a good life as possible.

**Author's Note: **

**Sorry for such a long wait! I just have had very little motivation to write. Anyway, I hope this filled some happiness because the next chapter is… well, you'll see. **


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Tony knew something was bothering Peter. It was obvious the kid was hurting, which wasn't surprising. Tony knew the kids had so much fun the day before but seeing Peter's dried tear tracks on his face was heartbreaking. Furthermore, Tony hoped that Peter would come to him. He was wrong.

"Dad, can I go out on patrol tonight?" Peter asked.

Tony was somewhat hesitant, but Peter had done pretty well the first night of patrol.

"Sure, Pete."

Peter mumbled a thank you. He had been in a really weird mood, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Patrol went bad, like really bad. To make a long story short, Peter came across a robber who was fighting an old woman. It made Peter so angry and his emotions got the best of him. Most of the time, Peter would just web the bad guy up to the wall and call the cops. This night, however, he beat the guy up, over and over. Peter didn't know how but just as he was about to throw another punch to the guy's face, he heard a voice.

"Spider-Man, he's had enough." Rhodey called out, in his war machine outfit.

Peter didn't move and was about to throw another punch when War Machine grabbed hold of him and took off. Peter wriggled and squirmed all the way back to the tower. By the time, they got up to their personal floor, he was in tears. Tony was at the elevator door in an instant, thanking Rhodes and pulling Peter into a tight hug.

"Deep breaths, kiddo." Tony whispered to Peter.

Peter tried to do what Tony had asked, but was having a hard time because his sobbing was so intense. It just wasn't working, he wanted to yell and scream. So, he fought hard to get out of Tony's grasp. Tony was surprised when the kid started in, yelling and kicking. Peter was more surprised when he fell to the floor. In the midst of the yelling and kicking, Tony had said something about falling to the floor. Peter somehow made it to his room and locked his door. He didn't want to be bothered, He was angry, so angry!

The week that followed had been rough. Rough not even covering how the week had been. Tony had tried several times to get Peter to talk to him or even come out of his room. Peter refused. Monday came around and Tony sent Peter off to school, even though Peter had expressively told Tony he would NOT be going. And of course, Tony received a call from the school saying Peter was in trouble.

When Tony got to the office, Peter was sitting there with his earbuds in, sporting a scowl on his face, and staring firmly at the ground. Tony knew this wasn't his kid, at least not the one he used to know.

"Peter." Tony said.

"Peter." Tony said, trying again and more firmly.

Tony reached over and pulled the earbuds out of the kid's ears. Peter jerked away angry and glared at Tony. The staring contest didn't last long as the principal started to talk.

"Mr. Stark, Peter got into a fight with one of the kids. To my knowledge, Peter has never had any issues with this other kid before. I was quite surprised to find out that a male teacher had to drag Peter in here, like he was five years old."

Tony nodded and then turning to face Peter. "Peter. Sit up like a big boy and tell me why."

Peter mumbled something, but Tony wasn't having it. "Peter. Sit up now and look at me."

Gees, it was like talking to Morgan when she was in trouble. Peter didn't move, so Tony had to resort to actually physically moving the boy. Peter started yelling and kicking. Tony was surprised and embarrassed. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with the kid. When the principal saw that the meeting was going nowhere, he ended the meeting by telling Tony that Peter would have two weeks of out of school suspension.

The car ride home was silent, besides the occasional whimper Tony could hear from Peter.

"Go to your room, Peter. When you have calmed down enough and are ready to talk like the fourteen-year-old you are, you can come out. Do you understand me?" Tony asked as they arrived at the tower.

Peter nodded.

Tony was exhausted. It had been really rough. So, he made the decision to make Peter an appointment with Dr. Zhago. After dinner was over, Peter had been told to go back to his room. Before he made it to the stairs, Tony called out,

"Pete, I made you an appointment with Dr. Zhago in two days."

Peter groaned, being overdramatic, "Why?"

"You need to talk to him. Let him help you."

"I don't need his help!" Peter said, louder than intended.

Morgan heard Peter and went to him. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, "Bubba."

Peter took a deep breath and knelt down to her height, "Yeah, Mo?"

"I don't wike seeing you so sad." Morgan said as she played with her hair mindlessly.

Tony couldn't help but smile at how Peter's whole mood changed around her.

Peter sighed, "Oh, I am not sad, Mo."

"Then why did you say you didn't need help?"

"'Cause I am a big boy and big kids don't need help." Peter said as he began tickling Morgan gently.

She giggled until Peter stopped. When he did, she started yelling for him to do it again. Tony was still staring at them in awe but confused. Peter couldn't help but feel bad for acting the way he was, but something was bothering him. He just didn't want to talk about it. Not yet.

As Peter was climbing into bed to go to sleep, Tony walked in. Both of them had calmed down after the day's events.

"Hey, Spider."

Peter couldn't help but give a small smile at the nickname.

"You feeling a little better?" Tony asked, concerned.

Peter nodded and finally spoke, "Am I in trouble?"

"Should you be?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say. He did break some rules, after all.

"Pete, we will talk about what happened on patrol later. Right now, I want you to get some sleep." Tony said, as he pulled the covers over the teen.

Peter's eyes widened and filled with tears, "Please! Dad! I am sorry! I didn't m-mean to be bad! Please!" He sobbed.

Tony was surprised by the outburst and pleading. He gently grabbed the boy's shoulders.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, spider. It will all be okay."

The boy practically fell forward into Tony's chest and continued to sob. Tony rubbed circles on his back. After a few minutes, Tony noticed that it wasn't working to calm the boy down. So, he tipped the boy back and picked him up like a baby. He maneuvered himself so that he was against the headboard. Tony then placed the boy between his legs, with the teen's lanky legs hanging over. Tony held the boy close and let him cry. It was the best he could do. Tony knew that whatever punishment, if any, would have to wait.

**-Two days later-**

Peter hadn't said anything, nor had he come out of his room. It was nearing his appointment and here he was waiting to see this "idiotic" doctor. Tony thought Peter would have made a big deal out of having to come see the counselor. Much to his surprise, the kid actually behaved enough to come. When the doctor was ready, Peter insisted that Tony wait outside. Tony had to admit he wasn't sure about that and he was a little hurt that Peter didn't want him. The appointment didn't last long. In fact, it lasted about five minutes. Peter was having none of it and here Tony was again having to get the kid up off the floor like a five-year-old. The car ride home was silent once again. And of course, Tony sent Peter straight to his room. Tony was actually really mad this time. He was torn. He knew the kid needed some help, but did Tony need to step up and go "dad" mode? He didn't know. The kid was 14, he was a little old to put in the corner. Then again, it might be good. Writing lines would become more of a fight than a solution. Tony didn't know what to do. He left the kid alone that night to calm down and hopefully come to his senses.

The next morning, Tony woke up and went to go check on Peter. The kid was gone. There was a note saying, _"I can't do this anymore. Don't worry about me, I am not worth it. I wanted and needed out." _

The kid was gone. Tony would not give up on this kid. Where was he?

**Author's Note: Ha! Ha! Cliffhanger! Sorry for the angst! This chapter was one of the easiest ones to write. It flowed so easily. I promise that I am not some depressing person! It will get better! I will only have 8 more chapters and then this story will be completed! Any ideas for what Tony should do, if he finds Peter? Any ideas welcomed! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Tony was desperate! It had been three days since Peter had run away with no trace. Tony had gone from anger to worry. He just wanted to know that Peter was okay. Peter hadn't taken his phone or his suit. He was practically untraceable. Tony had Morgan sent to spend a week with Rhodey. He needed to find Peter and have some privacy with his son after he found him. Pepper had to continue working as the CEO of Stark Industries, even though she was worried and upset. Life had to go on- in Pepper's world.

Peter didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. He had spent a night at Ned's and thankfully Ned's mom believed him when he told her that his dad was okay with it. Ned, of course, found out what was really going on, but swore he would keep it a secret. Peter got a bus ticket to Washington and spent the next night behind the Lincoln Memorial statue, no one noticed anyway. Thankfully, Peter had some money, so he paid cash for the third day in a motel room and was able to shower and eat. The manager of the motel seemed curious, but Peter told him he was visiting his grandparents in Canada and had to spend the night. The motel was quiet and gave Peter a chance to think. He was beginning to feel homesick and guilt was building up. A part of him wanted to go home, but he did not want to face the consequences for running away. He wasn't sure how Tony would react to him running away. He had left the tower without telling Tony several times now and each time he was grounded. But this time? Peter wasn't really sure what would happen. Uncle Ben would have let him have it and Peter wouldn't have been able to sit down until Christmas. But Tony wasn't Uncle Ben. Peter fell asleep with worry that third night.

Tony really didn't want to call the "Rogue" avengers. They didn't know about Peter and it was better that way. God, why did the kid have to run away? He just didn't understand what had gotten into Peter. He was ready to rip the teen a new one, his ears would be ringing by the time Tony was done with him. Those thoughts lasted only the first few hours but being four days- Tony was all worry and just wanted the kid home. Tony drove for hours that first day looking and searching for Peter. He even went back to Peter's old apartment, but it was awkward when the new family answered the door. For the fourth day in a row, Tony drove around, having FRIDAY keep him apprised of any updates. Tony was dead tired when he got back from looking that night. When the elevator opened to his private floor, he was surprised to see Peter laying asleep on the couch.

"What the heck?! Peter!"

Peter sat up and his face paled when he saw Tony looking at him. He immediately began sobbing but pushing himself away.

"Dad! Dad! I am s-sorry! I am sorry! Please, I am sorry!"

Tony knelt down to look at Peter in the eyes.

"Calm down, kiddo. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay." Tony said, trying to get the teen to calm down. He called Pepper immediately and told her that Peter was back.

"Where did you go? Why did you leave?"

"I don't know." Peter said sullenly. He had seemed to calm down pretty quick.

Tony rubbed both hands over his face.

"Peter, I don't know, isn't an answer. I know you know." Tony said sternly.

"I am sorry for running away. Am I in trouble?" Peter asked timidly, but already knew the answer.

"Yes, Peter. No reason is going to get you out of trouble. But right now, I want you to get some sleep. We will talk tomorrow."

Peter nodded and went to his room. He was really glad to be home, but he dreaded tomorrow.

The next morning, Tony was making breakfast when he noticed Peter walking in.

"Look at what the cat dragged in."

"Where's Morgan?" Peter asked.

"She is staying at Rhodey's. Happy will bring her home tomorrow morning." Tony said, his voice tense.

Peter just mumbled an 'oh'. He ate his breakfast that Tony made in silence, not looking up from his plate. Tony watched the kid. When Peter finished, he got up and washed and dried his plate. For a moment, he just stood there, as if he was waiting for orders.

Tony sighed, "Go get dressed, Peter and then come see me in my office. Okay?"  
Peter nodded silently, but Tony's sharp cough made him look up.

"Tell me what I just told you to do." Tony asked, his voice tense.

"T-to get d-dressed and meet you in the office, dad."

"I expect you can do that without any issues."

"Yes sir." Peter said, knowing he was in for it.

It had been quite awhile since Peter had been in Tony's office. Tony never really had the kids in there. But here Peter was, waiting patiently and nervously for Tony to say something.

Tony spoke up, "Peter, do you know how worried we were? Do you know how upset Morgan was, much less us? Do you know how much time I spent looking for you? Do you also know that I was so close to calling the police and the "Rogues" to find you? If I had called the police and they found you, they would have drug you back home in handcuffs. Peter, I know there is something going on with you, but I can not help you if you don't talk to me. You are a grieving teenager who just lost the most important person in his life. You need to cope and grieve, I get that, but running away is not the answer."

Peter didn't say anything. He had lip between his teeth and stared at the floor. When Tony stopped for a moment, he noticed that Peter had a tear running down his cheek.

Tony knelt down in front of him, " Peter, I love you and care about you. Do you know that?"

Peter nodded, not wanting to speak because he was afraid, he would burst into tears.

"Okay, follow me over here, Pete." Tony said.

Peter followed obediently and didn't move when Tony stopped on the other side of the room. Tony looked Peter straight in the eyes, "Pete, you will not run away again. If you have an issue, I expect you to talk to me. Now, I am going to treat like I do Morgan. I am putting you in time out."

Peter's jaw dropped and was going to argue, but the look Tony gave, made him think otherwise.

"Face the wall. Don't move and don't talk." Tony said, as he pointed to the corner.

Peter looked at him with pleading eyes. Seriously, he hadn't gone to time out since he was like 7.

"Now, Peter. I am not going to ask you again. When I call you, you can come out."

Peter reluctantly did as he was told.

5 minutes passed. 10 minutes passed. After what seemed like forever, 30 minutes had passed. Peter's legs were starting to twinge at standing for so long. He hadn't heard much out of Tony in the last 30 minutes.

45 minutes passed.

It had been an hour since Tony had sent the kid over.

"Okay, kid. Come on out of the corner." Tony called from his desk.

Peter did, thankful to be out. Tony got up and pointed to his desk chair.

"Sit, spider." Tony pulled another chair over so he could sit across from Peter. "Pete, here's the deal. You spent time in the corner because you ran away. Running away doesn't solve anything. You are also confined to our personal floor for a month. You will have no electronics for the first two weeks and if you attempt to access them, I will know about it and you will spend thirty minutes in the corner for every electronic you try to access. Furthermore, I am pulling you from school until I see improvement in your behavior. While you are home, you will be under mine or Pepper's supervision and you will still have schoolwork. Now, you will wear this watch at all times. Do not mess with it." Tony put the watch on Peter's wrist, with no argument from Peter.

"Do you understand everything I have just told you?" Tony asked, as he patted the kid's knee gently.

Peter couldn't help but burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs. Tony held Peter for a long time and reassured Peter that everything would be okay and that he was loved. There was a part of Tony that felt bad for grounding him so severely, but it had to be done. Finally, Peter fell asleep. Tony put him on the couch in the office to sleep for awhile. The kid- his kid was home. It might be a rough month, but they would get through it.

**Author's Note: I have so much extra time on my hands with this coronavirus "social distancing". This was honestly such a heavy and hard chapter for me to write. I didn't know what direction to take it. Hopefully, it works for y'all. I will definitely be able to write more this coming week as school has been cancelled. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Author's Note: Be prepared for some time jumps and skips. We only have a few chapters left and I want to make sure this story gets to where I want it to. ENJOY!**

The first two weeks of Peter's grounding were the worst! He had spent most of his time under the watchful eye of Tony, which was okay because Peter had been really clingy. Tony had even started nicknaming him "Koala" because of how clingy Peter was. After the two weeks were up, Tony allowed Peter to watch a movie with the family.

"Alright, koala, what do you want to watch? You've earned it since you have done really good these past couple of weeks." Tony asked as he sat down next to Peter.

Peter couldn't help but smile at getting to finally watch something.

"Star Wars?" Peter asked, looking directly into Tony's eyes.

"Put it on, kiddo."

Morgan started to whine. She hated Star Wars. "I don't want to watch Star Wars!"

Tony snapped his fingers, as he looked over at her. "Cut it out, Mo. Pete can choose tonight."

**(a month later) **

Finally! Peter's month of being grounded was up. He had done really well except for two notable occasions when he tried to get Tony to let him go to Ned's birthday party. Peter wouldn't take no for an answer, which just ended up with him in the corner of his dad's office as a result and writing lines. The other time was just all out rebellion, when Peter convinced FRIDAY to let him go down to one of the science labs on a different floor. Peter was supposed to be on the personal floor, doing work. When Tony found out, he was furious! He gave Peter a very stern and very long lecture about what he had done wrong. When Peter refused to answer any of Tony's questions, Tony ended up taking Peter's phone and sent Peter to his room. Peter was then confined to his room and only his room for three days.

At least, Peter was free to some extent and was allowed to go see Ned for a day, after promising Tony that he would be home by 6. Peter dutifully obeyed. Spending a day with Ned was exactly what Peter needed. The next morning, Tony was surprised when Peter asked him if he could visit the cemetery.

"Of course, Pete."

Peter bit on his lip and looked like he wanted to ask something more. Tony went over and sat down next to him. He nudged Peter's knee with his, when he saw how sad Peter seemed.  
"Hey, what's going on in that head of yours, koala?" Tony asked quietly

"I'm fine." Peter mumbled.

"No, you're not. What's wrong?"

"I j-just miss May." Peter said as his voice broke.

"Come here, kiddo." Tony said as he pulled Peter forward into a hug. A few moments later, Peter pulled away and wiped at his eyes quickly.  
"Can we go now?"

"Yeah, course we can." Tony said as he gave a quick small smile.

The visit to the cemetery was good and it gave Peter some more closure. The day had gone really well, in fact, Peter seemed almost back to himself. Of course, not everything can stay happy and calm. It had been a really long time since Peter had a nightmare. But that night, Tony was awoken by a blood curdling scream. He quickly got up as FRIDAY had alerted to him that Peter was in intense distress. When Tony got to Peter, he attempted to wake the kid up.  
"Peter, wake up. You are okay, buddy. I am going to help you." Tony said as he gently started to try to pick the kid up.

When he did, Peter started screaming and fighting to get out Tony's grip. It was like his first night at the tower after May had died.

"Pete, wake up. I am not here to hurt you. I am here to help you. Let me, buddy." Tony said calmly.

Tony managed to sit Peter up and hold him tight. After a few moments, Peter seemed to wake up and cried.

"I t-thought I w-was g-get- getting better." Peter said.

"You are, Peter."

"When will I be normal? I want to live my life normal again."

"I know you do. I know."

The next day, Peter was overly clingy to Tony. He didn't want to leave his side. Tony allowed him to come into his office, so Peter could try to do some work. When Peter's mind couldn't focus anymore, Tony called him over.

"Need a break?"

Peter nodded.

"Come on over here." Tony said as pointed to the chair, next to him. They spent the next couple of hours talking about different things. Tony was surprised when Peter wanted to talk about when he first started living with Tony and how far they had come. It was good for Peter to talk about these things. Tony's main goal in having Peter come over and just talk was that he was hoping Peter would take a nap. He needed one after the rough night. Of course, much to Tony's amusement, Peter started yawning and of course instantly denied that he wasn't sleepy. A few moment's later, Tony was carrying a sleeping teenager over to the couch.

When Peter woke up, he saw that Tony was sitting on the other end of the couch with his feet in Tony's lap. Tony hadn't noticed that Peter had woken up. Tony was quietly surprised and amused when he heard, " I'm hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Pizza, fried chicken, and umm… Dr. Pepper."

Tony chuckled, "You can have everything but the caffeine. FRIDAY, you heard the kid. You know, in order to eat, you have to get up."

"Na-ah. I am too comfortable."

Tony started tickling the bottom of Peter's feet mercilessly.

"Ah, stop!" Peter said in the midst of laughing. He fell unceremoniously and overdramatically to the floor.

"At least your up, spider." Tony said.

Peter stuck his tongue out playfully and retorted, "Only 'cause you tickled me and made me fall."

After Peter had eaten all the food, Tony had ordered. Peter sat with Morgan and read her a book. It had been awhile since Peter had spent time with her. After reading the same book about eight times, Morgan wanted him to push her on the swings at the park that was a couple of miles from the tower. Tony let them go. The fun ended when Morgan scraped her knee up pretty good. She was still in tears when they got to the tower. Tony set her up on the kitchen counter.

"Call, Bruce, daddy! It hurts!"

"It's not that bad, baby."

Morgan continued to cry.

"Mo, if we call Bruce, he'll just give you stitches."

"What are stitches?"

"Needles and thread." Tony said. He knew Morgan would never go for needles.

Morgan quit crying at that idea. "No, I am fine, Daddy."

"That's what I thought, stinker."

Morgan jumped down after her scrape was bandaged and insisted that Peter give her a piggy back ride. Tony was amazed that Peter never complained about being jumped on or being led around by Morgan. Morgan could be bossy. She was definitely more of a tomboy than girly. She had her "diva" and "drama queen" moments, like all four almost five year old girls.

Later that evening, Tony watched as Morgan was playing rough with Peter. She was literally using him for a trampoline.

"Mo, take it easy." Tony said.

"He's tough. He's Spider-man!"

"I know, but he is still a teenage boy."

Morgan didn't answer as she jumped and landed on top of Peter's stomach. He groaned but tried to laugh over his groan. Peter started tickling Morgan's sides, which made her roll off of him and onto the ground. When he stopped tickling her, she got back up and jumped onto his back, when Peter sat up for a moment. Peter never realized how strong she was. If it hadn't been for his spider strength, she would have knocked him over.

Pepper walked in at that moment, "Morgan, stop playing so rough."

Morgan nodded her head and stopped only for a few moments. When her mother left the room, she ran to the other end of the room and yelled out, "Watch out, Petey!" Peter only had a moment to brace himself, as she ran as hard as she could and literally knocked Peter over, as she jumped on top of him.

Okay, that hurt. Tony had gotten enough and made Morgan stop and sit on the couch.

"Give Peter a break, Mo." Morgan sat on the couch, mad.

Tony noticed that Peter hadn't gotten up yet, "Peter, you okay?"

Peter groaned. His whole right side where he had landed hurt. Tony made his way over to where Peter was curled up.

"Can you get up, Peter?"

When Peter tried, he just fell on his back. He was pretty sure he had bruised himself.

"It- it just really hurts." Peter said.

"Are your senses out of kilter?"

"I guess so. She just surprised me, is all."

Tony nodded. He grimaced when Peter made to sit up.

"I think we should have Bruce check you out."

Peter agreed almost instantly. "I am just going to lay here if that's okay with you."

Tony was not all that happy with Morgan for being so rough, after she had been told to stop twice.

Thirty minutes later, Bruce came into the living space and saw Peter laying on the floor. Morgan was in tears and Tony seemed really stressed. Bruce came over to Tony first.  
"Rough evening?"

Tony nodded and mumbled, "You have no idea."

"Which kid do you want me to look at first?"

"Peter. Morgan is not hurt."

"Are you sure?" Bruce asked, looking over in Morgan's direction.

"I am positive. She's just being overdramatic." Tony rolled his eyes.

Bruce went over to Peter who was laying on the floor.

"What's going on Peter?" Bruce asked gently, seeing that the kid was in pain.

"My whole right side hurts really bad. Morgan surprised me and tackled me."

Bruce lifted Peter's shirt up and saw that Peter's whole right side was bruising.

"I am surprised you're not screaming in pain. Your whole right side is bruised."

Tony couldn't help but feel bad for Peter, when Bruce barely touched his side. Peter was sure his whole side was on fire, when Bruce touched it.

"I think it would be good if you could take an ice bath, Peter. It might help and I will give you some pain medications."

"I d-don't want to move." Peter said.

Tony and Bruce helped Peter up. It was not fun! It turned out that the ice bath helped a lot with the pain.

"Feel good?" Tony asked, as he kept an eye on Peter.

"Yeah. Is Mo still in time out?"

"Pepper's keeping an eye on her." Tony said, as he touched the water, checking the temperature.

"She shouldn't be in time out."

"She shouldn't have jumped on you after we had already told her not to." Tony retorted.

"Well, all the same, I would probably have done the same thing if I had an older brother with super strength."

Tony chuckled. Bruce decided it would be best to change the water to warm. After a few minutes of being in warm water, Peter was getting sleepy.

"Pete, you can't go to sleep yet." Tony said as he gently tapped the kid's shoulder that wasn't bruised.

"I am so comfortable."

"I know, buddy, but you can't go to sleep in water."

Finally, Peter was taken out of the bath and put into some dry clothes. Tony helped him to the couch and gave Peter the remote. Awhile later, Morgan came over to Peter. Her eyes were red rimmed from all the crying she had been doing.

" I'm sorry, Peter. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Peter smiled at her. He did his best to give her some room on the couch. "Come here."

Morgan climbed next to him. He gave her a kiss on the head and just watched tv for a few minutes with her. When Pepper came to send Morgan off to bed, she noticed that both Peter and Morgan had fallen asleep. Tony picked Morgan up gently and carried her to bed. When he came back for Peter, he wasn't sure if he should move him. He woke Peter up only to ask him if he wanted to stay on the couch or go to his bed. When Peter just groaned in response, Tony chuckled and let him sleep on the couch. Tony decided to sleep on the other couch, in case Peter needed him.

The next day, Peter spent most of his time on the couch, watching movies. It was really nice because Tony was waiting on him hand and foot.

"You need anything else right now, Pete?" Tony asked as he sat down on the other end of the couch, with Peter's feet in his lap.

"No, I am fine."

"Take a nap, kid. Those pain meds will kick in and make you sleepy."

"I know." Peter said, as he watched the movie that was on.

Later that afternoon, Peter was woken up from his nap.

"Pete, wake up. Someone's here to see you." Tony said quietly.

Peter was surprised to see Ned standing there. Peter wanted to jump up but couldn't because of his side. Tony helped Peter to his room, so that the boys could hang out. Ned was told to make sure that Peter didn't over do it. The boys spent the rest of the day working on LEGO's and watching YouTube videos. It had been a good day. Tony was a little concerned that Peter may have overdone it. Peter was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't seem to find a way to get comfortable in his bed. One wrong move and his whole side would be on fire.

"Pete, what can I do to help you?"

"I don't know. It just really hurts." Peter moaned.

"Your fast healing should kick in hopefully by tomorrow."

Tony laid next to Peter, so Peter could rest his head on Tony's chest. The kid moved only a little and just started to cry. How could one movement hurt so bad?

"Pete, what happened?"

"It h-hurts!" Peter cried.

Bruce came to check on Peter. Tony had called him after Peter wouldn't stop crying and writing in pain.

"Peter." Bruce said, trying to get the kid's attention. "I know it hurts but writing around wont help."

Peter stilled, "It hurts."  
Bruce lifted Peter's shirt back up and saw that the bruising had faded a little. Instead of just watching Peter be in pain, Bruce gave him a super dose of muscle relaxer.

"Pete, you may feel like jelly because this is a super dose, but I am hoping it will reduce the pain."

Peter never slept better that night. All was right with the world, thanks to the super dose of muscle relaxer.

The next day, the bruising was almost gone, and Peter was able to walk around. When Peter was watching a movie on the couch, Tony came over.

"Hey, Peter. I have an idea."

Peter was only half listening.

"It's been a long time since you have been in my lab. Want to go and do some stuff?"

Peter's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, like old times."

Peter got up, not as fast as he would have liked. He made a beeline for the lab. Oh this was going to be awesome!


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Author Note: Hey readers! I am back with another chapter! This chapter is a lot lighter, but not everyone's life is blissful forever. Right? Also, make sure to continue checking back, as I plan to have 2 more one-shots up in the next couple of days and another chapter of this story out no later than the middle or end of next week! **

**(six months later)**

The days were long or at least it felt long to Peter. He had done so well and had improved so much in the last six months. Patrols had all gone well, his grades were improving from where they had been. This was probably because Tony had Peter stay home for the last six months. Tony was glad that Peter was getting better, he did not have to make a counselor appointment in the last six months. Tony and Peter spent many hours in the lab, which would lead to Tony carrying a sleeping teenager up to his room. Peter had taken on big brother responsibilities with Morgan, which was great because Pepper and Tony could go out for an evening.

Tony and Pepper had just returned home from an evening out and saw Peter sitting on the couch with a movie on and his laptop. Morgan was sound asleep in his lap.

"Hey, Pete." Tony whispered.

Peter took his earbuds out and smiled, "Hey dad, y'all have a good time?"

Tony sat down next to Peter, "Yeah, yeah, it was good." Tony noticed Peter's laptop.

"What are you working on?"

"College applications and a beginning resume." Peter whispered, not wanting to wake Morgan up.

Tony pointed to Morgan, "How long has she been asleep?"

Peter looked over at her and then looked back at Tony, "About an hour and a half."

Tony went to pick Morgan up when she moaned and muttered a 'no.' Tony couldn't help but chuckle, "Pete's working, baby." He then proceeded to put Morgan in her own bed and went back to where Peter was.

Tony closed Peter's laptop, "Take a break."

Peter rolled his eyes and instantly laid his head on Tony's shoulder.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?"

"Tired." Peter burrowed deeper into Tony's shoulder.

"Go to sleep." Tony paused for a moment when Peter seemed to tense.

"Have you been having nightmares again?"

Peter nodded.

"You should have told me, spider."

"It's been almost a year since…. I should get over it." Peter mumbled.

"It doesn't matter."

Peter yawned, "M sorry."

Tony maneuvered himself so he was facing Peter. "I am not looking for an apology, Pete. I am here to help you."

Tony felt the kid shudder and a sniffle, "Hey, c'mere." Tony pulled Peter in for a hug and let the kid cry himself out. He figured Peter needed it and waited until Peter pulled away.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded and wiped his eyes, "I need to finish this application."

"It's late, Pete."

"I know, but I just want to finish this." Peter practically begged.

"Okay, okay." Tony put his hands up and went to the kitchen. He handed Peter a soda and Peter smiled in return.

Just as Tony got settled back on the couch next to Peter, Morgan came trotting back in sleepily. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Mo, what are you doing up?"

Morgan came right over to Peter and held her arms out, like she was wanting to be held. She did not say anything. Peter smiled and set his laptop aside, letting Morgan climb in his lap. Peter kissed her on the cheek,

"Why are you up?"

"I wanted you." Morgan replied sleepily.

"Yeah, but you're supposed to be asleep in your own bed."

The next morning, Pepper went into the living room and saw all three asleep on the couch. She couldn't help but smile. Morgan was sent off to school and Peter was sent to do his schoolwork. Peter really wanted to do something else other than schoolwork, but he really couldn't help the urge to want to leave. It was a strange feeling because he knew he shouldn't even be considering going out, without permission.

"FRIDAY, where's Tony?"

"Sir is in his lab." FRIDAY responded.

Peter got up from where he was working and grabbed his phone and backpack. All he really wanted to do was to go outside and visit May, more or less. He really hoped Tony would understand his need to go out. He made his way to the elevator when FRIDAY stopped him.

"Peter, if you intend to leave the premises, you must inform Mr. Stark."

"FRIDAY, I was just going downstairs. Honest." Great, Peter had lied before he could stop himself.

"Very well."

"So please don't tell Dad." Peter requested.

"Yes, sir." FRIDAY responded.

Peter had successfully made his way out of the building and he ran right into Happy.

"Where you headed squirt?"

"Oh, just wanted to move outside to do schoolwork." He had lied again. Wonderful.

"Does your dad know?"

Peter nodded.

When Happy had gone back inside, Peter made his way towards the cemetery. He was walking so it would take about an hour.

Peter made it to the cemetery, and he was surprised that Tony hadn't called him yet. Tony was too involved in his work to notice that Peter had left. Peter found his aunt and uncle's grave and sat there, thinking. He hadn't even noticed that a couple of tears had been running down his cheeks. He must have lost track of time because his phone was ringing. He didn't want to answer it because he was in a world of trouble. He let it ring and ring, tears still coming down his cheeks. It must have been awhile later because a voice interrupted him from his thoughts.

"Peter! Peter!"

Peter looked up and saw Rhodey staring at him. Peter jumped back and his eyes widened. He stood up and before Rhodey could say anything, Peter began to ramble.

"U-Uncle Rhodey, what-what are you doing here? I – I mean…"

"Zip it. Go to the car. Let's go." Rhodey said angrily.

The car ride was silent. Boy, Peter was in for it.

Rhodey took Peter to Happy, who silently led him to the elevator.

"What were you thinking, Peter?" Happy said, as they rode the elevator.

"I don't know." Peter mumbled.

"Well you better have a better explanation than that for Tony. He's not happy, to put it lightly."

Peter hung his head. He was so dead. The elevator came to a stop and Tony was practically at the door. His face and his eyes were angry and full of disappointment.

"Thank you, Happy." Tony said, his tone short and voice clipped.

Peter stood with his head down. Tony had a good grip on Peter's arm and was not about to let him go in a hurry. The elevator door closed, and Tony looked over at Peter. The kid looked scared and guilty. Good. Tony thought, he should be after the stunt he pulled. Tony let go of Peter but pinned him with a look of 'don't move a muscle.'

"I don't want to hear excuses and I don't want apologies. Not yet. I want a good reason as to why you snuck off. Again." Tony said.

Peter was too scared to say anything. He had a good reason, but probably not good enough for Tony.

"Speak up, kid."

"I-I don't know." Peter mumbled still looking at the ground.

Tony sighed, "Go to your room and I will be there soon."

"Yes, sir." Peter said, as he made his way to his room.

Peter laid in his bed with tears in his eyes. He heard a soft knock on the door and was surprised to see Morgan walk in.

"Hey, Mo." Peter said.

Morgan shushed him, "Be quiet. Daddy and Mommy said I couldn't come in here."

"Are you crazy, Mo?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."  
" I am fine, sweetie. Better go before they catch you or you'll be in time out for a long time." Peter whispered.

Morgan left after giving Peter a hug. Peter laid back down on his bed, waiting.

To Peter's surprise, he was called to dinner by Pepper. When he made his way to the kitchen area, Tony seemed a little less angry. Dinner was a little awkward and quiet.

"Go to my office, Peter." Tony said after dinner was over. They made their way into the office. Pepper had whispered to Tony not to be to hard on Peter.

"Over here, Smalls." Tony said, as he waved in the direction of his desk. Peter sat across from Tony and waited. Waited for whatever Tony was going to dole out. Tony noticed that Peter was shaking slightly. He got up and knelt in front of Peter and saw Peter's face full of guilt and even seemed scared.

Tony sighed, "Pete, I am mad, but I promise I won't kill you."

"I am sorry, Dad."

"What you did today scared me. It can not happen again. At least you had the decency to take your phone with you and leave it on. Why did you go out again without telling me?"

"I just wanted to visit May and Ben and I needed fresh air." Peter stated sadly.

"I get that. I really do but sneaking out isn't the way to go about it." Tony stated firmly, but not unkindly. "Look at me, Pete."

Peter slowly did as he was told.

"If you pull a stunt like that again, I'll make you wear a tracker."

Peter looked ready to argue, but was stopped by Tony's next statement.

"No. Don't think for a second that I won't do it." Tony stated seriously. "You are so lucky, spider because I am giving you a free pass on that threat. You can thank Pepper cause she saved your hide. But that also means, she won't save you next time. Got it?"

Peter nodded furiously. Boy, he missed that bullet.

"However, it doesn't get you off the hook. You, young man, are grounded until further notice. No lab either. You do not leave this floor, unless myself or Pepper is with you. If you so much as step a toe outside of this floor without one of us, you'll have a tracker on before you can blink."

Peter gulped, knowing Tony was serious.

"Pete, I am not here to make your life miserable. But when you broke the rules, you made it that way. I love you, Pete, and I just want to make sure you are okay."

"I know." Peter whispered, tears threatening to come out and a lump had formed in his throat.

Tony sighed again, but it seemed sadder than an angry sigh. The kid seemed so forlorn and upset "C'mere." He pulled Peter to his feet and enveloped him into a hug. "I love you kid. I hope you know that."

"Love you too. M sorry. Won't do it again." Peter mumbled.

"I know bud. I know." Tony said, as he rubbed Pete's back.

A knock at the office door interrupted their hug. It was Pepper.

"Everything okay in here, boys?"

Pete looked away to gain his composure back.

"Yeah of course." Tony answered helping to hide Peter.

Pepper smiled, "Pete, would you like to come play a family game with us?"

"What game?" Peter asked.  
"Monopoly."

Peter's face lit up, "Of course. I am better than Tony." Tony tried to smack Peter's head but missed because Peter was too quick.

"That kid." Tony rolled his eyes.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

It seemed like Peter's grounding lasted forever, but it kind of did. Tony had kept Peter under lock and key for almost 4 months. It was extensive and harsh, but Tony hoped it would get his point across.

At the start of August, Peter decided he really wanted to go back to his school. He hadn't been back since May had passed. He wasn't sure Tony would let him go back, but he had been doing better.

Peter found Tony in the lab on Friday evening, "Dad, can I talk to you?"

Tony looked up and smiled, "Sure, kiddo. Let's sit over here."

Peter made his way to one of the empty worktables.

"What's on your mind, Pete?"

"I want to go back to school."

Tony sighed. He knew Pete wanted to go back, but he still wasn't sure if Peter was ready.

"Pete, I am not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?" Peter asked, annoyed that he didn't say yes right away.

"I just don't know if being back in that atmosphere is good for you."

"Can't I just try? You don't know if it's good or bad for me. Please!"

Tony put his hand up, "Spider, let me think about it."

Peter groaned. He was so frustrated. "That means no." He got up to walk away but was stopped when Tony put his hands around him to bring him back over. Tony stood Peter between his knees and rubbed his arm gently. Peter's muscles were tight and he was tense. Tony hoped that rubbing his arm would help calm Peter down.

"You know I would do anything to make you happy, right?"

Peter shrugged and didn't say anything.

"Pete, I know you want to go back. It's been several months and you're starting your junior year. I just… I want to make sure your anger is under control."

"It is." Peter whined.

"Okay, okay. I will call the school Monday and see if we can set an appointment up. Sound good?" Tony said gently.

Peter nodded.

"Now, how about we go find the girls and watch a movie?"

The following Monday, Tony and Peter went to the school to talk with the principal and the school's counselor. Tony noticed that Peter kept bouncing his knee nervously.

"Nervous, Pete?" Tony whispered.

"A little."

A moment later, the principal stepped out, "Mr. Stark, Mr. Parker, come on in."

Tony sat next to Peter and put a hand on his knee, Tony whispered in Peter's ear quickly, "Shh, Pete. It's okay."

"So, Peter." The principal began, "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry we are about what has happened to you the last few months. I am happy though that you wish to return."

Peter nodded.

"Your teachers have been sending you work through email the last few months. Since you are starting your junior year, it would definitely help to try to actually come in. As you know, we do evaluations on each student, so they have those evaluations to give to colleges. Peter, I would happy to get you going here again. To be honest, this is your decision to make."

Tony smiled and looked over to see if Peter would say yes.

"I want to come back but…" Peter trailed off.

The counselor spoke up, "Peter, if there is something, we can do to help you with this transition, please tell us now."

Peter swallowed not exactly sure how to bring up Flash.

"It's nothing. I am fine." Peter chickened out.

Tony narrowed his eyes for a second at Peter. He knew the kid was lying. He wasn't fine.

The principal pulled out Peter's file, "Pete, if you're sure you want to come back. I will give you a new locker combo and you can meet with the counselor to make your class schedule. Since you missed registration, we will go ahead and put you in whatever classes you want. You can hand your teachers the permission note on the first day."

Peter nodded. They proceeded to register for classes and Peter's mood seemed to improve as the day went on. It was near lunch time when they had finished.

"Ready to go? Let's go get some food." Tony asked, just as the lunch bell rang.

"A-actually, could I see if I can find Ned at his locker really quick?"

Tony nodded, "You will come back?"

Peter rolled his eyes, "At the risk of you following through with your threat, yes."

Tony laughed, "Go on then, Smalls."

A few minutes later, Peter had an even bigger smile on his face as he met back up with Tony.

"You seem happy."

"I am starving!" Peter said.

"Well, let's get out of here and find some grub." Tony said, as he put a loose arm around Peter's shoulders.

Tony and Peter both decided to eat at a buffet, of course it was a fancy and expensive buffet. Peter filled four plates full of food. Tony shook his head fondly, as the kid was finishing off the fourth plate.

"My goodness, we were hungry." Tony teased.

" 'S so good!"

"Are you full or you going back for more?"

"More." Peter said questioningly.

"Go on then. Eat up." Tony said, as he made a shooing motion with his hands.

Peter came back with a fifth plate of food. Granted, it wasn't as much as the first four plates, but it still had quite a bit of food. By the time, he had gotten full, he thought he was going to pass out from all the food. Tony was not surprised when Peter had fallen asleep in the car. The kid had been going all day and it was two p.m. Peter had gotten into a habit of taking a nap during the day. Naps wouldn't work well though if Peter were in school.

**(a week later)**

Peter had a really good first full week. At first, the schedule change was hard. He was kind of grumpy when he had gotten home, but Tony understood. Peter was even more surprised at how nice everyone was being. Maybe too nice in some cases. He got the feeling they were all just trying to coddle him. The first day back was overwhelming because everyone was telling him sorry about his aunt. It had been a year already! Gees.

Peter felt like everything was getting back to normal, or as normal as it could be. He really wanted to go out on patrol! Tony had said no because it was a school night and Peter was just getting back into the swing of things. **(no pun intended)**

"The answer's no, Peter."

"Oh, come on!"

"Pete, this is a transition time. Give it a few more days. You can go out on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon."

"I just want to go out on patrol, like I always did!"

Tony sighed in frustration. Why did teenagers have to disagree all the time?

"No, Peter. That's final. Why don't we watch a movie or go to the lab?" Tony offered to try to get patrol off the kid's mind.

Peter groaned dramatically and went to his room. He was so frustrated, and he really wanted to go out on patrol. But with Tony's threat looming in his mind, he decided just to go to sleep. Forget the world.

**Author's Note: We are so close to being done with this story! Thank you guys for the support! I plan to have the next chapter out by Friday! **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28 **

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and as always feel free to review! **

The weekend was practically here, and Peter really wanted to go out as Spider-Man. It was Friday night and Tony had told him he could go out just a few days before.

"Hey, Pete." Tony said, as he and Peter both were washing and drying dishes after dinner.

"I am almost done with these dishes and then can I go on patrol?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Sure, Pete. Just be back by curfew."

"I will, don't worry." Peter said honestly.

Tony and Peter both finished the dishes and Peter made a beeline for his room to change into his suit. Tony had followed him upstairs and wanted to have a little chat with Peter before he left for patrol.

"Need any adjustments on it?" Tony asked, as he sat on Peter's bed.

"No, no, it's fine." Peter said, as he was fiddling with his web cartridges.

Tony noticed Peter's hands were shaking slightly, as if he were nervous. He stood up and went over to Peter.

"Everything okay, spider?"

Peter nodded his head, obviously too distracted to notice Tony's look of concern.

"Why are your hands shaking if your okay?"

"Huh." Peter said. He was totally confused by the question.

Tony gently grabbed the web cartridges and set them down, so Peter could focus on what he was saying. "Pete, look at your hands."

Peter did and they were slightly shaking.

"Just nerves, I guess."

"Nothing to be nervous about, Pete."

"I know. I know."

Peter tried to grab the cartridges again, but Tony stopped him by holding Peter's arm.

"Dad, come on, I want to go." Peter whined.

"Peter, will you be honest with me?"

Peter nodded his head. Honesty in his eyes and all the trust in the world.

"Are you sad, Pete?"

Peter didn't say anything but adverted his eyes to the ground. There was Tony's answer right there, but he wanted the kid to tell him.

"Pete."

"Maybe a little." Peter said quietly.

"Today is the day, you know." Tony said, not wanting to make the kid sad, but it was probably the reason the kid had been so desperate to go out.

"I am fine, Dad. I just really want to go out on patrol. Please?" Peter said, a tear started falling. Peter hadn't realized it until Tony ran a finger to dry his cheek.

"C'mere." Tony said gently and quietly. He pulled Peter into a hug that was probably too quick. Peter pulled away and quickly wiped his eyes.

"Go on, Spider-Man. Have fun. Be careful."

It felt amazing to be swinging through the city of New York. The sun was just beginning to set, and the wind was blowing. It had been a really pretty day; too bad Peter had been stuck inside at school. Spider-Man stopped a few robberies. Crime wasn't all that bad that night. Peter still had another hour before curfew, so he decided to stop by the cemetery. Frankly, it was thirty minutes away from his location. He knew he didn't really have the time to go over there because it would be about forty-five minutes home. Gees. Would Tony understand or would he be angry? Peter took a deep breath.

_You could just ask Tony to take you. _

_Not worth the risk of getting in trouble, I guess. _

_But Tony would understand. Or maybe not. _

_God, why is this so hard? _

_No, Peter. No. Don't go. _

Peter decided to swing towards home. _Good choice. _He made it home with about fifteen minutes to spare. He climbed into his window and changed into some sweats and a shirt. He headed downstairs towards the living area. Tony and Pepper were both watching a movie. Tony looked up in surprise as he saw Peter coming down the stairs. Tony couldn't help but glance at his watch.

"Hey, Pete. Fifteen minutes early, huh?"

Peter nodded.

"Want to watch the movie with us?" Pepper asked.

"Um, I am pretty tired. I think I would rather go to bed." Peter said, not feeling social.

"Okay." Pepper smiled. "Good night, baby."

"Night." Peter said, turning around and heading back up the stairs.

Tony waited a few moments, hoping that Peter wouldn't hear him.

"You think he's okay?" Tony asked.

"He's fine, Tony. It's been a hard day for him."

"Yeah. I know."

"Tony, relax. He knows we are here to help him. Give him space and time." Pepper advised.

God, Pepper was smart.

"Okay. Should we make him pancakes tomorrow?"

"I think we should all just go out for breakfast tomorrow."

Tony snapped his fingers, "Even better. Should I go tell him?"

Pepper chuckled and slapped his arm, "No."

The next morning, Morgan ran down the hall and jumped on Peter's bed to wake him up. It was 9:30 and she wanted to go to breakfast.

"Wake up, wake up!" She said as she bounced, not all that gently on Peter's back.

"Mo, 's to early."

"Nah-uh." Morgan argued back.

Peter was glad when Morgan went silent and just as he was falling back to sleep, he heard Morgan yell to wake up.

"Mo…"

"Daddy said we were going out for breakfast. Let's go! I am hungry!"

Peter rolled over onto his back and opened one eye. He saw Morgan smiling and giggling at him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Peter grabbed Morgan's side and put her on the other side of the bed and began tickling her. Tony was making his way up the stairs when he heard giggling He peaked into Peter's room.

"What are you two crazy kids doing?"

"I am trying to wake him up so we can go eat!" Morgan said.

"I am awake." Peter mumbled.

Tony chuckled, "Hurry up then, princess, we are waiting on you." The pillow that was thrown at his face was a total surprise. Morgan giggled and followed her Dad to go annoy him. Boy, she had so much energy in the morning.

Breakfast was great! Well, it was until Morgan started complaining about the sausage being too spicy.

"Mo, it's not spicy, baby." Pepper said.

"Yes, it is."

"Then ask for ham or bacon, Mo."

"No. I wanted sausage." Morgan complained further.

Tony just shook his head. He was honestly so tired of the complaining.

"Why don't you try it with ketchup?" Tony offered.

"No." Morgan whined.

"You have to eat some meat, Mo." Tony told her trying to get her to eat.

"I just want more pancake."

"You can have more pancakes, but you need to eat one more piece of meat." Tony instructed.

"No." Mo whined again and began to cry. Everyone knew it was the cry to get what she wanted.

Peter had an idea, "Hey, Mo. Try some of the sausage with your syrup. It helps the spicy to go away."

Mo just continued to cry and whine to Peter, "I just want pancake."

"Look." Peter said, as he dipped a bite of his sausage into his syrup, "Here, just try it."

Morgan took the piece of sausage and made a whining noise.

"Just try it. You'll like it." Peter encouraged.

She loved it! There was no more complaining about the breakfast sausage. Tony couldn't help but smile at how Peter was with Morgan. Usually, the food issues with Morgan would end up with her in tears and being in time out. After breakfast, Tony suggested that they all go to the park, it was a beautiful day outside. They made their way to the park. Peter picked up a basketball over by the court. He made a basket on his first try.

"Wow, kid. That was a good shot." Tony called out.

"Thanks." Peter said. He bounced the ball a few time and threw the ball into the basket.

"Want to play a round with me?" Tony asked.

"You?" Peter asked in feign shock.

"I will have you know, genius, that I played basketball in high school."

"You, Tony Stark, played basketball?" Peter still not believing Tony.

"If you keep questioning my basketball playing, I am gonna throw this ball at your head."

"Nuh-uh, it's child abuse." Peter retorted.

In all fairness, Tony was really good. Peter was shocked at how good his dad was. It was a fair game and Tony let Peter win at the end. Peter seemed really tired and sweaty at the end. Tony and Peter got some water and watched Morgan play on the playground for another hour. To Tony's surprise, Peter fell asleep on the bench they were at.

"You must have worn him out." Pepper whispered.

"That or he didn't sleep well and didn't say anything." Tony said, as he rubbed Peter's arm gently.

"Well, either way, he's out." Pepper whispered, as she ran her hand through Peter's hair. "He needs a shower."

When they were done at the park, Tony tried to wake Peter up, but he was dead asleep.

"Okay, I guess you're going to make your old man carry you, huh?" Tony teased. He picked Peter up and buckled him in the car.

When they got to the tower, both kids had fallen asleep. Pepper carried Morgan in and put her on one couch and Tony put Peter on the other. It was almost one p.m. and they needed to have lunch.

"I am going to order some Chinese." Pepper suggested.

Tony went upstairs to shower while the kids slept. After he was clean, he saw that both kids were still asleep. Pepper had ordered the food, so the kids would still have some time to sleep. The food arrived in twenty minutes, so Tony woke the kids up. Well, Morgan was awake. Peter was still dead asleep. He wouldn't move. Tony noticed Peter still seemed hot and sweaty. He felt the kid's forehead and sure enough, he felt like he had fever.

"I am going to call Bruce and have him check Peter out. He feels like he has fever." Tony said, as he moved Peter to the other couch. Peter had made the first couch wet with sweat and Tony thought moving him to the other couch would help cool him off.

Within a few minutes, Bruce came in and saw that Peter was indeed asleep and hot. He checked his temperature.

"103.5" Bruce said. He checked Pete's blood pressure. The kid hadn't stirred.

"It's probably the flu. Has he had any other symptoms that you know of?" Bruce asked Tony.

Tony was laying some wet cool cloths on Peter's forehead. "No. Unless, he hasn't told us. He seemed fine at breakfast."

"Okay, well I am going to stick around and if he shows new symptoms or says something, let me know. Let him sleep though." Bruce said as he went to go hug Morgan.

Peter slept until almost 4 p.m. He woke up disoriented at first, but realized he was in the living room. He felt nauseated. What in the world? He figured he was just hungry. He went to the kitchen and saw the Chinese food in the kitchen. It was so quiet in the house.

"FRIDAY, where is everybody?"

"Mr. Stark is in his lab. Pepper and Morgan are watching a movie in the bedroom."

"Oh thanks." Peter said, as he went to go down to the lab.

"Dad, can I come in?"

Tony looked up, "Oh, Peter. You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I am fine. I am just hungry."

"No noodles in my lab." Tony said.

"It was just one time."

"Yeah and I spent three hours picking noodles out of Dum-e and U's wheels."

Peter chuckled, "I will be careful."

Tony rolled his eyes and went back to his work. He was working when he heard Peter whimper.

"Pete, you okay?" Tony instantly noticing how pale Peter was and then Peter threw up. Everywhere.

FRIDAY then came on the intercom, "Sir, Pepper is asking for assistance as Morgan has just puked all over herself, the bed, and the floor."

"Tell Pepper I am dealing with my own mess down here. I will be up in a minute. Two sick kids." Tony ordered FRIDAY. "Get Bruce back up here."

Tony was able to get Peter out of the clothes he was wearing. Peter began to weakly apologize. Tony led him upstairs and into the bathroom.

"Here, Pete." Tony washed Peter's face and his feet.

Bruce checked both kids over after they had both been cleaned up from the mess. He came downstairs. "Both are sound asleep, and both have food poisoning."

GREAT. JUST GREAT!


	29. Authors Note:

**Authors Note: **

I know this isn't a chapter, but I changed a little of chapter 26. So if you want to, you can read it. I hope you enjoy the changes. Also, there are just a couple of chapters left! Like 2 left and then this story is finished!


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Food poisoning came and went. In fact, it felt more like it was invading then anything else. The kids were miserable. Thankfully, it lasted about a week.

After Peter felt better, he was still grounded. He was beyond bored but didn't complain too much. Tony and Pepper both found him things to do which amazingly, he seemed to rather enjoy. The pain of losing May eased every day. Some days a memory would come back into Peter's mind and he would be sad only for a moment, but he looked around him and realized how blessed he really was. Needless to say, his grounding passed rather quickly. He wanted to go back to Midtown again, so he was on his best behavior. Tony wondered what was up with the kid because he was suddenly the star child.

"What's up with Peter?" Tony asked Pepper one evening after the kids had gone to bed.

Pepper laughed "Nothing, Tony. He's behaving himself."

"Well, it's like suddenly he's the star child that everyone wants."

Pepper just shook her head, "He's fine, Tony. Leave him be."

The next few days went by and Peter was waiting on his parents hand and foot. He volunteered to do things around the house and do things with Morgan. Tony was still curious about what was actually going on with Peter, but hey, he would take what he could get. Right? Tony let Peter back into the lab a couple of weeks after Peter's grounding was up. Peter never begged or asked once, since his grounding was up.

"Want to go to the lab, Pete?" Tony asked after lunch.

Peter's eyes lit up and immediately nodded his head. Tony chuckled as the kid nearly tripped under his own feet. Spending time in the lab with Tony was amazing!

"So, Pete, what's up?"

"Oh, I am fine, Dad."

"Spider."

Peter sighed, "Okay, okay. I really want to go back to school. I promise I will be on my best behavior and won't cause any trouble. And I will be home by curfew and keep my grades up. Please, please!"

Tony rolled his eyes , "Fine. You can go."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Peter exclaimed, giving Tony a hug.

Monday rolled around and Peter was up bright and early, ready to go back. God, he wanted to go back! Tony was surprised to see Peter in the kitchen, making breakfast of all things.

"Pete? What are you doing?"

Peter turned around to face Tony and smiled. "Here." Peter handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Tony looked at him surprised but confused. "So, what are you doing?"

"I am making breakfast."

"You could have had Pepper do that."

"I know."

"Okay then. Are you sure you want to go back?" Tony asked.

"Of course!" Peter exclaimed.

Peter rushed through breakfast and then proceeded to rush Tony through breakfast. Peter volunteered to clean the kitchen and was ready to go. Peter was bouncing up and down with energy. He had told FRIDAY to tell Tony he would wait downstairs in the lobby, with Tony's permission of course. Tony had told him yes.

"What took you so long?" Peter asked as Tony finally met him downstairs.

"It's only been 10 minutes since you came down here. Let's go, kiddo."

The day flew by! Peter had a great day besides being asked questions by everyone he came across. His teachers had accepted all of his work. Even the teachers were surprised at how attentive Peter was. He was full of energy and couldn't seem to calm down. Happy picked up Peter and took him back home. Peter nearly talked his ear off the whole ride home. When Peter got home, he got himself a bottled water and sat on the couch. Boy, it was nice to be home. He went sat on the couch for a few minutes and suddenly, he felt sad. Out of nowhere, sadness seemed to sweep over him. He laid down on the couch and started to cry. Peter couldn't understand where it came from. He must have been too overwhelmed to have noticed that Tony was talking to him. A moment or two later, Peter's head was in Tony's lap and Tony was carding his hand gently through Peter's hair. A few minutes later, Peter rolled over onto his back and looked up at Tony. His eyes red and a few stray tears rolling down his cheek.

"You okay, kiddo?"

Peter nodded, wiping his face a little. "Sorry."

"Spider, you have nothing to be sorry for. It's okay." Tony comfortingly said.

"Dad, will the pain and the sadness ever go away?"

"Uh, it won't ever go away completely but it will get easier."

Peter sat up, "Dad, can we go to the lab?"

Tony ruffled the kid's hair, "After homework."

Peter grinned, "Yes sir." He retrieved his backpack and made his way to the kitchen island to do his homework. Tony pulled out a soda and handed it to Peter, which was accepted with a thank you. Tony was pleased to see Peter doing well, despite the emotional rollercoaster they had just experienced.

The following few weeks went smoothly. Bruce came by and commented on how well Peter seemed to be doing. Of course, Morgan was always happy to see Bruce, partly because he would always bring Morgan a lollipop or a candy bar. Pepper invited Bruce to stay for dinner.

"Pete, I heard you went back to school. Are you liking it?"

"It's great. I get to hang out with Ned." Peter stated.

"You're going to be a senior before you know it." Bruce reminded Peter.

Peter couldn't help but smile at that idea.

"What's after high school?" Morgan asked, looking at Peter.

"Uh, college."

"College?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah for super smart people, who are really old!" Peter teased.

"Like you?" Morgan retorted.

Peter threw a green bean at Morgan, which was returned with a giggle and a "hey!" She threw one back at him.

"Kids!" Pepper scolded.

It seemed as though it set off a chain of the kids being crazy and goofy. When Tony tried to ask Peter a question that was intended to be serious, Peter started laughing and couldn't seem to stop. Same with Morgan. Morgan wanted to play rough with her older big brother, which Peter happily let her. Why not? Tony was a little concerned that she would hurt herself or Peter, but he wasn't going to stop them or tell them not to. Not yet, anyway. Morgan jumped around on Peter and Peter gently rolled her around and tickled her. Suddenly, Morgan decided to start playing with Bruce.

"Bruce! Bruce! Come get me!" Morgan had a big smile on her face. She made a silly face at Bruce.

Tony looked over at Bruce and smiled. Bruce went to her and just as he was getting close, she ran off yelling down the hallway. "Come get me, Brucie!" She yelled down the hallway. Bruce played with her the best he could. Peter tag teamed with Bruce and they ended up cornering her in Tony and Pepper's bedroom. Peter picked her up and began tickling her. She was screaming, kicking, and laughing. Peter stopped tickling her, ran her into the other room where Tony was and dumped her in his lap. She started yelling 'no' as Tony began to tickle her more.

When he stopped, he told both the kids, "Bedtime!"

Tony was immediately given sounds of protests and whines, mostly from Morgan. Peter was actually pretty tired, so he put no argument up and went right to bed. Tony gave Peter a quick hug, "Goodnight, kiddo."

"Come on, Mo. I'll tell you a story." Peter said.

Morgan hugged Tony, Pepper, and Bruce goodnight. Tony gave her a big kiss on the head, which elicited an 'ew, daddy'.

When Peter got Morgan settled in the bed, she asked for a story.

"A story. Uh, once upon time, Mahuna went to bed. The end."

"That is a horrible story."

"Na, come one. That's your favorite story." Peter said. He got up and turned out her light, "Go to sleep, missy."

Peter went to his bed and immediately fell asleep. Tony went in to check on Peter awhile later. The teen was sound asleep and seemed to be at peace. So different from how he was when he first came to live with Tony. Peter was such a good kid!

**Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter! One more chapter, yall! I already have another story at work in my mind, which I will be working on in the next few weeks! Hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it!**


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